It took ZUS Coffee six games to finally savor victory, but the Thunderbelles made the long wait worthwhile, uncorking a stirring comeback from two sets down to stun Galeries Tower, 17-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-12, in the PVL All Filipino Conference Siklab Series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum late Tuesday night.
Too late to salvage their semifinal bid, the breakthrough victory nevertheless gave the Thunderbelles something equally precious – a badly needed boost of confidence and a measure of pride after five straight defeats.
And they celebrated every point of it.
“Pinagtrabahuhan talaga namin ito, nilaban namin. Ayaw lang talaga naming ma-zero ang record namin. Kaya ilalaban pa din namin ng husto ang mga remaining games namin,” said veteran Chai Troncoso, who delivered 13 points and 21 excellent digs to earn Best Player of the Game honors.
It was a triumph forged in grit and determination, with ZUS Coffee refusing to let another five-set battle slip away after losing its two previous matches in similar fashion.
This time, the Thunderbelles turned the tables in spectacular fashion, overcoming not only a two-set deficit but also a confident Galeries Tower side fresh from a five-set escape against Akari.
Already out of semis contention after opening the campaign with five consecutive losses, ZUS Coffee made sure it would not be the only team heading for an early exit. The defeat also knocked the Highrisers out of the Final Four race, dropping them to 1-5.
The Thunderbelles saved their best for the decisive fifth set, where they erased an early 3-6 deficit behind the timely contributions of AC Miner, Chinnie Arroyo and Troncoso, whose combined efforts pulled them back into the fight and forced the frame's second deadlock at 7.
Another Troncoso hit gave ZUS Coffee the lead, and the Thunderbelles seized control from there, stringing together two more points for a three-point cushion.
A contested foot fault by Arroyo briefly kept Galeries Tower within striking distance, but the latter quickly made amends with a hit on the ensuing play.
Jolina dela Cruz then joined the finishing charge, while a pair of costly Highrisers errors pushed ZUS Coffee to match point at 14-10.
Lycha Ebon refused to let Galeries Tower go quietly, firing consecutive hits to trim the deficit to two. But after the Highrisers dug away the Thunderbelles' first two attack attempts, Kate Santiago rose to deliver the decisive blow, capping a gritty, two-hour-and-22-minute battle between two teams fighting to keep their fading campaign alive.
Miner led ZUS Coffee with 17 points, while dela Cruz chipped in 10. Alyanna Ong and Santiago also made valuable contributions, finishing with nine and eight points, respectively.
It was a sorry setback for the Highrisers, who were hoping to keep their slim semifinal hopes alive. However, the defeat officially eliminated them from semis contention, overshadowing Jean Asis’ career-high 27-point performance, as well as the 13 and 12 points contributed by Erika Deloria and Ebon, respectively.
The Thunderbelles rode the momentum of a crucial third-set victory to dominate the fourth and force a five-set showdown, making it the 11th match of the tournament to go the full distance.
With the Hightowers shifting from awesome to awful, the Thunderbelles raced to a commanding 17-5 lead in the fourth. They wavered and cracked under the pressure of the Hightowers’ furious comeback, which trimmed the deficit to 19-22, but the 12-point cushion they had built proved too much to erase.
For ZUS Coffee, the victory may not have changed its semifinal fate, but it finally gave the Thunderbelles a reason to celebrate – and a reminder that their season still has something worth fighting for.
