ZUS books first PVL finals appearance against Petro Gazz

MANILA, Philippines – It will be a clash of an up-and-coming crew and  a seasoned squad in the PVL Reinforced Conference finals. 

The ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles and the Petro Gazz  arranged a face-off for the Reinforced Conference crown after thwarting their semifinal foes on Thursday, November 27, at the Araneta Coliseum. 

ZUS pummeled the PLDT High Speed Hitters in three sets, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22, to secure its first-ever PVL finals ticket since joining the league in 2023. 

Anna Debeer had 30 points to lead the Thunderbelles to the finals, while Chinnie Arroyo added 14 markers, all off attacks. 

Alyssa Eroa manned the floor defense for ZUS Coffee with 23 excellent digs and 13 receptions. 

“This is the job: build the team, strengthen it, and make them solid,” Thunderbelles head coach Jerry Yee, who once held the head coaching position in Petro Gazz, said. 

“We are really a young team… The management was working hard to get the right pieces for our team… so I had to do my work [to repay] them,” he added. 

The youth-laden ZUS Coffee dominated PLDT in the attack department, 59-37, en route to the monumental win, which also ended the High Speed Hitters’ bid for a third straight title after winning back-to-back preseason championships. 

Earlier, Petro Gazz escaped the Akari Chargers in five sets, 25-19, 25-17, 15-25, 22-25, 15-13, to return to the Reinforced Conference finals after three years. 

Brooke Van Sickle put up 23 points, 18 excellent receptions, and 13 digs, while Lindsey Vander Weide contributed 16 points.

Petro Gazz now has a chance to regain the Reinforced Conference title they once held in 2022 in Weide’s first tour of duty in the Philippines. 

“I mean, I think it goes to show it does not matter how we start, but what matters most is how we finish,” Petro Gazz head coach Gary Van Sickle said, getting candid on the team’s tournament journey, where they finished fifth in the elimination round with a 5-3 record. 

“At the beginning of the season, it was a little hard. This team showed grit to [power through] from start to finish,” he added. 

Myla Pablo chipped in 14 points and nine excellent receptions on top of MJ Phillips’ 10 markers. 

ZUS Coffee will face Petro Gazz in a winner-take-all title match on Sunday, November 30, at the same venue. – Rappler.com