ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles celebrate during a win over Chery Tiggo Crossovers in PVL on Tour in Candon City, Ilocos Sur.–PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — ZUS Coffee denied Chery Tiggo’s outright quarterfinal bid with a come-from-behind 19-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 15-6 win in the PVL on Tour on Tuesday at Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.
The Thunderbelles turned to super rookie AC Miner, who scored seven of her game-high 19 points in the fourth to force a decider, where she conspired with Chinnie Arroyo for a hot 9-3 start.
READ: PVL on Tour: ZUS Coffee grabs first win over Creamline
Kate Santiago’s back-to-back points, followed by Maika Ortiz’s ace, gave ZUS a commanding 14-6 spread.
Jovelyn Gonzaga, who started but didn’t play in the next three sets, drilled the game-winning cross-court hit, as ZUS Coffee dragged Chery Tiggo to the knockout round.
ZUS, Chery Tiggo and idle Creamline all finished Pool B with similar 3-2 slates but the Cool Smashers went on to earn the final outright quarterfinal berth due to superior quotient.
The Thunderbelles battle the loser of the last preliminary game between Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho, as the Crossovers face the winless Pool A team, the Galeries HighRisers.
Miner, the fifth overall pick, delivered 15 kills and four blocks, showing a great connection with setter Clo Mondoñedo, who dished out 36 excellent sets on top of two points.
READ: PVL: Rookie AC Miner off to good start at ZUS Coffee
“Not all teams want to go to a fifth set. For us, we didn’t want to go home sad because our trip was long, so the whole team really fought hard,” said Mondoñedo in Filipino. “I think we’re still lacking. There’s still a lot the team needs to prove.”
ZUS Coffee flaunted its depth with Santiago chipping in 13 points and 12 digs from the bench. Arroyo had 11 points. Chai Troncoso tallied 10 points and 13 excellent receptions, while Fiola Ceballos added seven points, helping Miner in their strong fourth set showing that paved the way for their third win out of four five-setters played in the preseason so far.
“We’re happy the team showed resilience, but at the same time, we also saw some inconsistency. At least now we know what we need to work on,” said ZUS Coffee coach Jerry Yee.
“There’s still a lot to fix: our transitions, conditioning, and other areas we still need to pinpoint. It’s not going to be quick. But at least we got the win. The team is fighting, even our second unit, so we’re really happy about that.”
READ: PVL: ZUS Coffee rallies past Capital1 for first preseason win
“It’s not really about having depth, it’s about knowing our roles. Even those with short stints on the court play important roles. We’re able to rotate well, so we’re good in that aspect,” added Yee, whose squad only committed 12 errors against Chery Tiggo’s glaring 29 miscues.
Santiago spelled the difference in their strong bounce back in the second set to tie the game to one set apiece, scoring seven in the frame but got beaten by Chery Tiggo’s block party in the third.
Ceballos provided the spark off the bench, and Miner caught fire for a 19-14 gap in the fourth set. Ren Peñafiel tried to fight back after back-to-back kills and an ace from Ara Galang, 19-17, but Miner restored the order and put on the finishing touches to force a decider.
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Third-round pick Peñafiel’s 19-point career high and 14 excellent receptions went for naught as they failed to secure the outright quarterfinal berth. Robles also gave her all with 18 points and 19 digs. Imee Hernandez had 14 points. Galang and Jyne Soreño added 11 each, while libero Angela Nunag had 26 receptions and 12 digs.
