ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
It’s an exciting time for ZUS Coffee.
The Thunderbelles waited 20 games and three conferences to finally score their first franchise win.
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They didn’t have to wait as long for victory No. 2.
ZUS Coffee’s 25-22, 25-16, 25-19 shutdown of Galeries Tower in the All-Filipino Conference on Thursday, in fact, added something new to the young franchise’s list of milestones.
A first winning streak.
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And it wasn’t hard to figure out what is making the team lick this time.
“If there is talent in the team, it makes a lot of difference,” coach Jerry Yee, who surprisingly showed up again in the postgame press conference, said in Filipino. “When you have higher-tier recruits, it’s a big deal.”
As expected, No. 1 Rookie Draft pick Thea Gagate has been making the biggest difference for the team that has long resided at the bottom of the standings.
“Thea will be Thea. It’s different now that she’s there: for blocking and offense, you already have an advantage. It’s becoming easier for the team to transition from offense to defense,” Yee said.
“This time, in terms of height, skills, we have that. Beauty as well,” a visibly elated Yee joked. “It’s better to have the materials because if you don’t have that how can you work?”
This is the most beefed-up roster that ZUS Coffee had. It previously made do with unheralded free agents and was not even able to exploit the services of Gagate immediately as the La Salle product was loaned to Alas Pilipinas early in her rookie year.
Veteran blood
“She is living up to the expectations. Of course, she is. Actually, in and out of the court because it feels good if you have that kind of teammate, somehow you are hopeful that you have a chance to win,” the soft-spoken mentor said. “So you are excited to practice earlier, to do better than what the coaches want you to do because now that we have the materials, you can see direction.”
Former Cignal hitters Jov Gonzaga and Chai Troncoso added veteran blood to a team that ran on the young core of NCAA champion St. Benilde.
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“I am thankful to my teammates because they are striving to play for the team,” Gagate said. “It’s not only me who has that goal, it’s really a team effort, so I am just happy that even the coaches, the management and players really want to improve.”