A LATE twist has given ZUS Coffee inside track on the last quarterfinals seat after stunning Cignal in five sets, 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-12 in Pool A of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference play-in tournament on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
The Thunderbelles made amends in the fifth-set tiebreak after blowing a two sets to one lead in Set 4 where they were even up 12-3 at one point.
Cignal went on to force a decider following a 10-3 set-clinching blitz but just lost steam in the endgame — one that could prove costly to their quarters bid when the play-ins come to a close on Thursday.
Bigtime double-double performances from Chai Troncoso (21 points, 17 receptions), who landed the match-winning crosscourt hit, and Chinnie Arroyo (20 points, 18 digs) helped ZUS Coffee avert a five-set meltdown after taking a two sets to one lead.
A former HD Spiker herself, Troncoso refused to use the takeaways from her two-year Cignal stint against them and was solely focused on taking the Thunderbelles over the finish line.
"Masaya naman po (na makalaro yung Cignal ulit). Yung game namin na 'to, magiging boost namin for Capital1 (sa Thursday). 'Di pa naman tapos eh. May game kami sa Capital1 para talaga makasali kami sa quarters," said Troncoso.
ZUS Coffee head coach Jerry Yee added: "Masayang-masaya kasi kahit na may konting frustration kasi nung fourth set, pwede na (sana kaming manalo). Buti na lang kumapit nung fifth set kaya masaya pa rin."
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By virtue of match points total, only Cignal and ZUS Coffee can still secure the 7-seed to play Petro Gazz in the best-of-three quarterfinals.
The clearest path for ZUS Coffee to complete a play-in upset is to take down Capital1, regardless of how many sets it will take, as a 2-0 record will be enough to knock both Cignal and Capital1 out of playoff contention.
Meanwhile, the next 48 hours will be a long and winding waiting game for the HD Spikers as mere spectators after ending the play-ins at 1-1.
Both at the forefront of a brave Set 4 comeback, Vanie Gandler matched her career-best 23-piece along with 10 digs as Ishie Lalongisip posted 16 points and 10 receptions.
Unfortunately, their playoff fate no longer lies in their hands as it will now take a Capital1 win of any form over ZUS Coffee on Thursday to still send Cignal to the quarterfinals.
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