ZUS Coffee’s magical run is about to reach what was once an unthinkable climax.
The Thunderbelles busted through to their first-ever PVL Finals, as they stymied two-time champion PLDT, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22, in the 2025 Reinforced Conference knockout semifinals on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Anna DeBeer completed a rare straight-set 30-piece, including three of the last four points to seal a historic entry to the championship match.
Chinnie Arroyo emerged as the local spark that kept feeding the DeBeer fire, chipping in 14 attack points in the win.
Veteran savvy also steadied young ZUS Coffee, with Jovelyn Gonzaga adding seven markers and Alyssa Eroa anchoring the floor with a 23-dig, 13-reception double-double.
True to their season narrative, the Thunderbelles' semifinals breakthrough was built on grit and come-from-behind poise.
They clawed back from an early five-point hole in the opening frame before seizing control late, then wiped out a High Speed Hitters set point in the second set behind back-to-back DeBeer kills.
The script didn’t change in the third, as another five-point PLDT cushion vanished, and once again, the American winger took over to power her side to the breakthrough.
"This is the job eh, ‘no? I-improve ‘yung team, buuin nang mabuti, palakasin, gawing solid. Masaya, satisfying, pero malayo pa eh, dahil marami pa kaming gagawin. Ito ‘yung journey namin na masaya ngayon, pero we still have to work dahil mahaba-haba pa," said ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee.
Just 16 months after making the first overall pick in the inaugural draft, the league’s joint-youngest franchise has soared to the title game in a remarkable zero-to-hero rise.
After three winless campaigns and just six total victories in five previous conferences, the Thunderbelles have now raised the bar in this year’s import-laced play with nine wins in 10 games on their way to the finals.
They will challenge two-time Reinforced Conference champion Petro Gazz for the championship in a knockout showdown on Sunday, 6:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PLDT three-peat goes up in flames
There won't be a championship treble this year, as the High Speed Hitters yielded a shock defeat that saw their title hopes snap in a flash.
It was a rare game that saw Russian import Anastasiia Bavykina surpass Savi Davison on the score sheet, both with rare low-scoring games for their high-scoring standards.
Bavykina put up 16 points, while Davison was held to 15 points and 17 receptions, her lowest scoring output this conference.
Kath Arado, though, kept up with fellow veteran libero Eroa's defensive showing with 18 digs and 13 receptions.
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