The Zus Coffee Thunderbelles. PVL Media Bureau
MANILA (UPDATED) — Zus Coffee continued its breakthrough campaign in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference.
The Thunderbelles advanced to their first-ever PVL final by sweeping PLDT, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22, in the semifinals on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Coming as second seed after the two-round preliminaries, the Jerry Yee-coached squad only lost once this conference—a glaring improvement after their first year, when they even finished winless in two tournaments, still branded as Strong Group Athletics.
Regardless of their conference results this time around, the Thunderbelles already secured their best placement in their franchise history.
They will now face Reinforced powerhouse Petro Gazz for the crown, which defeated Akari earlier in the day.
"Ayun, everybody contributed—si Anna [DeBeer] most especially," coach Jerry Yee acknowledged, praising the 30-point output of their import, Anna DeBeer.
Zus Coffee overwhelmed PLDT in attacks, 59-37, thanks to the sharp-spiking DeBeer, who registered 29 attacks, and had eight excellent receptions.
READ: Petro Gazz weathers Akari scare to secure PVL finals berth
Libero Alyssa Eroa did her part, tallying 23 excellent digs and 13 excellent receptions, to which Yee also recognized, helping stop the PLDT offense.
"Pero ‘yung locals natin nag-step up, si Alyssa [Eroa] most especially. So we’re very happy na ganun nga, pero ‘di pa tapos, so one more game," said Yee.
Spiker Chinnie Arroyo chipped in 14 points, while setter Clo Mondonedo listed 18 excellent sets.
On the other hand, PLDT, champion of the 2025 On Tour and 2025 Invitational, sees its triple-crown chase go for naught as it absorbed the loss.
Import Anastasiia Bavykina and Savi Davison combined for 31 points, but those wasn't enough as they lacked the support, which proved pivotal in the straight-set loss.
The High Speed Hitters will face Akari for the bronze.
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