Pressure mounts as Thunderbelles face Angels in crucial tiff

Games today, Oct. 28, 2025
FilOil EcoOil Centre
1:30 p.m. – Galeries Tower vs. Akari
4 p.m. – Petro Gazz vs. ZUS Coffee
6:30 p.m. – Creamline vs. Chery Tiggo

ZUS Coffee isn’t just chasing a fourth straight win — it’s also bracing for a true test against one of the league’s powerhouse squads.

Riding a franchise-best start in the PVL Reinforced Conference, the Thunderbelles remain the only unbeaten team across both pools after a four-set victory over the Chery Tiggo EV Crossovers, a sweep of the Galeries Tower Highrisers, and a stunning four-set upset of the Creamline Cool Smashers.

Now, as they square off with the Petro Gazz Angels at 4 p.m. at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, coach Jerry Yee and his gritty crew — led by Anna DeBeer, AC Miner, Riza Nogales, Thea Gagate and ace setter Cloanne Mondonedo — are confident they can match, if not exceed, their remarkable performance against the Cool Smashers.

Their blend of relentless offense, solid defense and composure in crunch time has turned heads in this year’s conference.

But the Angels present a formidable challenge.

After falling to the Cool Smashers, they bounced back emphatically, sweeping the EV Crossovers and then outlasting the Akari Chargers in a five-set thriller last Thursday.

With ZUS Coffee at 3-0, Petro Gazz at 3-1, Akari at 2-1, and Creamline at 2-2, the race for the top three spots in Pool B remains tight as teams head into the final stretch of the first preliminary round.

The top three squads will advance to face the bottom three of Pool A in another single-round phase that will determine rankings for the knockout playoffs.

That makes today’s other matches just as crucial.

Akari battles the winless Galeries Tower (0-4) at 1:30 p.m., while Creamline takes on Chery Tiggo (1-3) in the 6:30 p.m. main game.

Though the Chargers and Cool Smashers appear favored on paper, upsets have been a defining theme of this unpredictable, year-ending conference organized by Sports Vision and backed by ICTSI, Milcu, Mikasa and Fabriano.

Akari, coming off a tough five-set loss to the Angels that snapped their two-game run, looks to regroup quickly against Galeries Tower.

Still, the Highrisers are eager to finally break through and spring a surprise.

The Crossovers, meanwhile, hope to sustain momentum from their sweep of the Highrisers that ended a three-game skid.

For that to happen, coach Norman Miguel will need big outings from import Yuni Batista and locals Ara Galang, Cess Robles, Pauline Gaston, Seth Rodriguez, Shaya Adorador and Mylene Paat.

They’ll have their hands full against a Creamline side determined to bounce back from its recent stumble.

The Cool Smashers will lean on Coco Schwan, Alyssa Valdez, Tots Carlos, and Michele Gumabao, with setter Kyle Negrito orchestrating plays and middle blockers Pangs Panaga, Sheena Toring and Lorie Bernardo fortifying the net.

With the standings tightening and every point crucial, fans can expect another day of intense, unpredictable battles — where momentum, confidence and playoff positioning are all on the line.