PVL: Fueled by heartbreak, Ysa Jimenez comes through for Galeries

Galeries Tower High Risers’ Ysa Jimenez. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — It was better late than never for Galeries Tower, which missed firepower in the preliminary round of the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.

With a chance to book an outright quarterfinal berth, Ysa Jimenez and France Ronquillo rose to the occasion combining for 43 points to lead Galeries’ 25-17, 25-22 19-25, 25-19 upset of the No.3 Cignal and enter the quarterfinals on Thursday at Philsports Arena.

READ; PVL: Galeries Tower stuns Cignal to advance to quarterfinals

Tired of heartbreak losses, Jimenez stepped up when it mattered most to pick up the franchise’s most important win to make history with their first playoff experience.

“We went through so much that we even questioned, ‘What’s happening with all the effort we’re putting in'” But we always held on to something—we kept telling ourselves that everything happens for a reason, and this is it. Like they say, if it’s meant for you, it will come,” said Jimenez in Filipino after scoring a game-high 23 points.

“We realized that maybe the reason we haven’t won yet is because it wasn’t the right time.”

READ: PVL: ‘Perfectionist’ Alyssa Eroa emotional after Galeries’ upset win

Ronquillo backstopped Jimenez with 20 points and 13 excellent receptions to earn their first franchise win over Cignal since joining the league two years ago.

My motivation for this game was the feeling I had in my past games because I knew that wasn’t my best performance. I wanted to bounce back for my teammates and prove that I wouldn’t let them down,” said Ronquillo.

Jimenez and the HighRisers made sure to be on top of their game, getting enough preparation and motivation in the qualifying round despite losing 10 of their first 11 games.

“Coach told us that there’s no pressure for this game because there’s really nothing to lose. We were confident because we really pushed ourselves, especially with the help of our coaches. They’re so dedicated to making sure we overload in training, especially when it comes to attacking,” she said.

Now that they got a breakthrough, there is no stopping the HighRisers from dreaming big in the best-of-three quarterfinals against the winner of the Akari and Farm Fresh qualifying game.