After dropping the first two sets, ZUS Coffee woke up from a deep slumber—quite fittingly—and stunned Choco Mucho, 22-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-17, 15-10, to clinch a spot in the 2025 PVL On Tour quarterfinals on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Thunderbelles leaned on the core of Chinnie Arroyo, Jovelyn Gonzaga, AC Miner, and Cloanne Mondoñedo to pull off the reverse sweep and shock the Flying Titans, who seemed poised for a straight-sets victory after a dominant 2-0 start.
Arroyo delivered her third 20-point performance of the tournament, finishing with 21 points as ZUS Coffee — now winners in four of their five five-set matches — secured a quarterfinal clash with PLDT on Thursday at 6:30 PM.
(c) PVL Images
“Always proud pag nag-iimprove, masaya tayo, proud tayo, happy tayo, and hopefully magtuluy-tuloy lang,” said head coach Jerry Yee.
The Thunderbelles opened the deciding set with a 4-1 run, capped by a huge block from Gonzaga on Isa Molde. They later uncorked a 5-1 burst to turn a 9-6 lead into a commanding 14-7 cushion.
However, a service error by Maika Ortiz gave Choco Mucho a sliver of hope. The Flying Titans responded with a mini-run, as Jen Villegas and Molde stuffed Miner and Gonzaga at the net to close the gap to 10-14.
But Gonzaga, who had just been denied in the previous play, bounced back with a crafty offspeed attack that found the floor, sealing the two-hour and nine-minute comeback for ZUS Coffee.
“We basically have more talent, pero di pa kami team. We have more names na magagamit, meron akong mga sub kahit papano, eight- nine-man deep. Kulang pa eh. Di pa kami consistent. Di pa kami team. We’re trying. We’re trying,” added Yee.
Gonzaga finished with 16 points, 13 coming from attacks, while Miner was a defensive anchor at the net with four of ZUS Coffee’s 16 total blocks, also tallying 14 points.
Mondoñedo orchestrated the offense with 22 excellent sets and chipped in three points, while also getting support from Ceballos and Kate Santiago, who each added 10 points.
On the defensive end, Alyssa Eroa led the charge with 19 excellent digs.
(c) PVL Images
Meanwhile, Choco Mucho was left searching for answers after another meltdown, ending its campaign with a fifth consecutive defeat.
Molde’s career-best 27 points — built on 23 attacks, three blocks, and one ace — went for naught, despite also recording 14 excellent receptions.
Royse Tubino chipped in 17 points, while Ayesha Juegos and Cherry Nunag contributed 11 and 10 markers, respectively, in the losing effort.
