Gone are the winless days for the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, but head coach Jerry Yee knows that the team is still far away from being a championship contender in the PVL.
ZUS Coffee's hopes of entering the quarterfinals in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference are alive and well.
The Thunderbelles pulled off a massive five-set upset over the Cignal HD Spikers, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12, on Tuesday, March 11 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, keeping their postseason bid alive.
But despite the breakthrough win, head coach Jerry Yee remains firm that his team still has a long way to go, refusing to get carried away by one win
“Very proud sa pinanggalingan [namin] but then, we always strive, di ba? Further and farther para talagang makapasok ‘yung gusto natin—perennial contenders, diba?” Yee said during the post-game press conference. “Sa ngayon, hindi pa kami [nandoon]. Malayong malayo pa. So, maganda na may potential, and we will work on our game.”
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Before this All-Filipino Conference, ZUS Coffee had gone winless in its past campaigns.
Now, the Thunderbelles are one win away from making it to their first-ever quarterfinal appearance in the league.
Their next opponent? The Capital1 Solar Spikers on Thursday, March 13—a team they beat quite convincingly during the preliminary round.
Still, Yee knows that maintaining the same level of intensity will be crucial in their upcoming game and possibly in the next round.
“Siyempre mas ganado kami, sayang naman nagpakahirap kami sa Cignal,” Yee said.
“Very hungry na makapanalo, kahit saan kami makakuha ng panalo, gusto namin. Capital1 edi sige, laro kami ng maayos, then sana makuha namin, then move on to the next rounds,” he added.