THEA Gagate, the league’s inaugural top draft pick, continues to impress in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
READ: Jovelyn Gonzaga preaches patience as ZUS Coffee continues growth
No less than Creamline’s MVP duo in Alyssa Valdez and Bernadeth Pons were in awe of the 6-foot-2 ace’s commanding presence in their five-set escape over ZUS Coffee.
Gagate had 15 points in her first battle against the defending champions and already ranks third in the league in blocking after just five games played with an average of 0.7 blocks per set.
In the MVP pair's words, Gagate’s as good as advertised — a proper game-changer armed with veteran-like composure.
“Thea has been one of the biggest impacts in ZUS, and one of the toughest defenders sa ZUS sa kabilang side ng net,” said Valdez.
“Walang kakaba-kaba ‘yung bata. Kitang-kita mo na confident talaga si Thea. Maganda ‘yung aura niya na talagang the confidence is there. We can’t wait to see her monster blocks and her points [even more]," 'The Phenom' continued.
“It’s a good sign [for Thea to perform like that this early] coming into the PVL kasi siyempre, this is the biggest league here in the Philippines.”
Pro-ready Thea
Racking up a handful of top middle blocker nods both for La Salle in the UAAP and in her first-ever national team stint with Alas Pilipinas gave Gagate much-needed skill and confidence boosts that made her pro league-ready this early.
“Given na ‘yung malaki siya, pero sa skills, meron din talaga siya. Ang galing niya, ang tangkad niya pa, and siguro isang malaking bagay din ‘yung experience niya sa national team,” said Pons.
“Walang kaba, perform lang siya.”
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