After snagging first franchise win, Zus Coffee looks excitedly ahead

Jov Gonzaga —Photo: PVL

ANTIPOLO CITY—Everything that ZUS Coffee went through in its young PVL life has led to this breakthrough moment for the franchise.

Playing in their third conference now, the Thunderbelles finally claimed a first-ever win, a 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-15 triumph over Nxled in the All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at Ynares Center here.

“We are so happy since this is our first win. We have waited a long time for this,” young captain Cloanne Mondoñedo said in Filipino after the team broke a 20-game skid since it joined the league as Strong Group Athletics earlier this year.

“We’re very happy and excited for the upcoming games,” the talented setter continued. “It’s a different feeling to get a win. It’ll help to boost the team to continue playing better.”

Zus Coffee is finally with top Draft pick Thea Gagate for this conference, and the influx of free agents in the offseason led by the experienced Jov Gonzaga has obviously upped the team’s stock.

Deadly 1-2 punch

The duo was at the forefront against the Chameleons, with Gonzaga, the lefty who sat out the last conference to fulfill duties with the military, scoring 23 points.

“I need to step up because once I do, my teammates can pull confidence from me,” the seasoned Gonzaga said. “At the same time, I really have huge trust in their talent and potential.”

Gagate, meanwhile, is slowly but surely turning out to be the franchise piece that Zus selected her for, as the former La Salle ace in the UAAP scored a career-high 16 points built on 10 kills and five blocks as the Thunderbelles rose to 1-1 here.

“I’ve always believed that we can [win],” Gagate said. “We will continue to fight because like what (Gonzaga) said, we all have talent and potential and we just have to harness that together as a team so we can get wins.”

And now that ZUS Coffee has gotten the sweet taste of victory, it wants to continue forgetting its bitter past and get more victories.

“I didn’t even notice that this is our first win,” coach Jerry Yee joked. “We’re only starting. The veterans are a huge help to us.

“This is exciting,” Yee continued. “The pieces are coming together so I hope things fall into place soon.”

The Chameleons slumped to 0-2 even with new Italian coach Ettore Guidetti. Nxled got 19 points from Chiara Permentilla, who is becoming the team’s go-to scorer. Rookie Lucille Almonte added 12 points.

ZUS guns for its first winning streak when it battles Galeries Towers on Nov. 28 at PhilSports Arena. Galeries is still battling PLDT at press time.

Meanwhile, Nxled looks for a first win this conference against Chery Tiggo next on Nov. 26 also at PhilSports.