CANDON, ILOCOS SUR – ZUS Coffee’s gritty five-set triumph over Chery Tiggo turned out to be a favor for idle Creamline.
The Thunderbelles rallied from a set down to escape with a 19-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 15-6 win against the Crossovers in the 2025 PVL On Tour on Tuesday at the Candon City Arena here, creating a three-way tie in Pool B — and handing the Cool Smashers an outright quarterfinals berth.
All three teams finished with identical 3-2 records, but it was Creamline who emerged on top with 10 match points. The Cool Smashers edged out Chery Tiggo (9) and ZUS Coffee (7) to automatically advance to the next round.
With his team on the edge after dropping the third, ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee brewed the right mix with bench players Fiola Ceballos, Kate Santiago and Maika Ortiz conniving with starter AC Miner in the bounce-back to force a deciding frame.
Then it was time for the first-six mainstays, Chinnie Arroyo and Miner, to take the spotlight in the fifth. They made five points in the Thunderbelles’ early 8-3 barrage to set the tone en route to the come-from-behind victory after two hours and 19 minutes.
(C) PVL Images
“We are happy na ganon nga resilient yung team pero we also showed inconsistency. At least alam namin ‘yung kailangan namin i-work on,” said Yee after his team played in its fourth five-setter in five games, winning three.
Cloanne Mondoñedo dished out 36 excellent sets that resulted in four Thunderbelles breaching double figures in scoring, led by rookie Miner with 19 points on 15 attacks and four blocks.
“Siguro naging puhunan lang namin is hindi kami tumigil nung sets na pinanalo namin lalo na nung fourth set kasi kung hindi namin binigay yung best namin doon, malamang tapos na,” said Miner, the fifth overall pick of the 2025 draft.
Santiago had 13 points and 12 excellent digs while Arroyo made 11 points. Chai Troncoso also chipped in 10 points and 13 excellent receptions despite not playing in the fifth.
The fourth-seeded ZUS Coffee will face the loser between Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho, who are playing as of publishing, in the knockouts.
(C) PVL Images
On the other hand, third-ranked Chery Tiggo will face Pool A cellar dweller Galeries Tower (0-5) in the knockout round on Saturday at the Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite for a final shot at a quarterfinals ticket.
Renee Peñafiel paced the Crossovers in the defeat with 19 points and 14 excellent receptions, while Cess Robles got 18 points and 18 digs.
Imee Hernandez chimed in 14 points, while Ara Galang and Jyne Soreño got 11 points each.
The team still lost despite the scoring barrage, no thanks to their 29 errors. ZUS Coffee only had 12 errors in the five-setter.
