By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
There’s no stopping ZUS Coffee.
The Thunderbelles continued their dominant run, dismantling Choco Mucho, 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur on Saturday, Nov. 8.
It was ZUS Coffee’s sixth straight win in as many outings for a league-best record in the preliminaries.
The victory also towed PLDT, which earlier downed Galeries Tower, 25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-21, to the next phase.
Anna DeBeer was once again almost unstoppable, leading the Thunderbelles with 20 points built on 19 attacks, while Chinnie Arroyo produced 10 kills to finish with 11 points.
Riza Nogales also stood tall at the net with seven blocks for 11 points, while Jovelyn Gonzaga and AC Miner chipped in 10 points apiece to give ZUS Coffee a balanced offensive front.
ZUS Coffee coach Jerry Yee lauded his players’ efforts, acknowledging the challenge of facing a veteran and talent-laden Choco Mucho squad.
“This is a big win for us kasi malakas din yung Choco Mucho, kumpleto yan. Test of character samin. Okay naman yung resulta,” he said.
The veteran mentor also praised Arroyo for stepping up when given the opportunity.
“Nag-step up si Chinnie since nabigyan siya ng break. Ayaw na nyang bitawan kaya good para samin yun,” he said.
The Thunderbelles unleashed 60 kills to finally crack the Flying Titans’ net defense anchored by Maddie Madayag, who delivered 10 of Choco Mucho’s 18 blocks.
Cloanne Mondonedo orchestrated the offense masterfully, dishing out 26 excellent sets on top of three points to complete ZUS Coffee’s all-around performance.
Choco Mucho dropped its third straight game and fell to 2-4, putting its quarters campaign in peril.
