Zus Coffee Thunderbelles

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Zus Coffee Thunderbelles
Zus Coffee Thunderbelles logo.png
Short nameZus Coffee
NicknameThunderbelles
Founded2024
Owner Strong Group Athletics
Head coach Jerry Yee
CaptainCloanne Mondoñedo
League Premier Volleyball League
2025 Invitational 6th place

The Zus Coffee Thunderbelles (stylized as ZUS Coffee) are a professional women's volleyball team in the Philippines competing in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL). The team is owned by Strong Group Athletics, founded by Frank Lao, who has a stake in the Malaysian-based coffee chain Zus Coffee. [1]

Contents

The team made their team debut in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference under the name Strong Group Athletics following the organization's acquisition of the Quezon City Gerflor Defenders franchise. The Thunderbelles are one of two teams owned by SGA, the other being the Farm Fresh Foxies.

History

The Strong Group Athletics reportedly helped Premier Volleyball League club Quezon City Gerflor Defenders resolve its player salary issue [2] which was first reported in November 2023, during the 2023 Second All-Filipino Conference. [3] [4] [5] Gerflor would be effectively disbanded after the tournament. [6]

In January 2023, it was announced that the Strong Group would be taking over Gerflor's franchise. It was Strong Group's second PVL team, the first being the Farm Fresh Foxies. [2] [7] They made their PVL debut at the 2024 All-Filipino Conference. [8] Interim coach Rogelio Getigan led the team under the name "Strong Group Athletics" in their first tournament. [9] [10]

In May 2024 in the lead up to the Reinforced Invitational Conference, Strong Group rebranded as Zus Coffee Thunderbelles and will take effect at the upcoming PVL conference after made a partnership with Zus Coffee. The team also announced coach Jerry Yee as the new head coach. [11]

Names

Current roster

Zus Coffee Thunderbelles roster
No.Nat.PlayerPos.HeightDOBFrom
1 Flag of the Philippines.svg Mycah Go Outside Hitter (2002-04-15) April 15, 2002 (age 23) St. Benilde
2 Flag of the Philippines.svg Caroline Santos Middle Blocker1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) De La Salle
3 Flag of the Philippines.svg Thea Gagate Middle Blocker1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) (2000-07-06) July 6, 2000 (age 25) De La Salle
4 Flag of the Philippines.svg Kate Santiago Outside Hitter1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) (2002-01-26) January 26, 2002 (age 23) Adamson
5 Flag of the Philippines.svg Glaudine Troncoso Outside Hitter1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) (1997-10-13) October 13, 1997 (age 27) Central Philippine
6 Flag of the Philippines.svg Julia Angeles Libero1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) (1998-09-01) September 1, 1998 (age 27) Letran
8 Flag of the Philippines.svg Cloanne Mondoñedo  (C)Setter1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) (2000-11-16) November 16, 2000 (age 24) St. Benilde
9 Flag of the Philippines.svg Gayle Pascual Opposite Hitter1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) (1999-09-03) September 3, 1999 (age 26) St. Benilde
10 Flag of the Philippines.svg Chinnie Pia Arroyo Outside Hitter1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) (2001-05-19) May 19, 2001 (age 24) National-U
11 Flag of the Philippines.svg Wielyn Estoque Outside Hitter1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) (2001-04-08) April 8, 2001 (age 24) St. Benilde
12 Flag of the Philippines.svg Renee Mabilangan Setter1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) (2000-12-29) December 29, 2000 (age 24) National-U
13 Flag of the Philippines.svg Sharya Ancheta Middle Blocker1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) (1999-11-25) November 25, 1999 (age 25) Adamson
14 Flag of the Philippines.svg Dolly Versoza Outside Hitter1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) (1998-03-10) March 10, 1998 (age 27) José Rizal
15 Flag of the Philippines.svg Alexis Ciarra Miner Middle Blocker (2003-01-21) January 21, 2003 (age 22) Ateneo
16 Flag of the Philippines.svg Alyssa Eroa Libero1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) (1996-09-06) September 6, 1996 (age 29) San Sebastian
17 Flag of the Philippines.svg Fiola Ceballos Outside Hitter1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) (1994-06-21) June 21, 1994 (age 31) Central Philippine
18 Flag of the Philippines.svg Danivah Sheilo Aying Opposite Hitter1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) (2001-03-31) March 31, 2001 (age 24) USJ–R
19 Flag of the Philippines.svg Rizza Nogales Middle Blocker (2002-12-03) December 3, 2002 (age 22) UE
21 Flag of the Philippines.svg Jovelyn Gonzaga Opposite Hitter1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) (1991-10-31) October 31, 1991 (age 33) Central Philippine
24 Flag of the Philippines.svg Maika Ortiz Middle Blocker1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) (1991-08-30) August 30, 1991 (age 34) UST
– Flag of the United States.svg Anna DeBeer Outside Hitter1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) (2001-09-25) September 25, 2001 (age 23) Louisville

Season-by-season records

SeasonConferencePreliminary roundFinal roundRankingSource
2024 All-Filipino 12th (0–11, 0 pts)Did not qualify12th place [12]
Reinforced 12th (0–8, 0 pts)Did not qualify12th place [13]
Invitational Did not qualify
2024–25 All-Filipino 9th (4–7, 14 pts)Lost in quarterfinals vs. Petro Gazz, 1–27th place [14]
PVL on Tour 5th (2–3, 7 pts) (Pool A)Lost in quarterfinals vs. PLDT, 0–3*7th place [15]
Invitational [a] 6th (0–5, 0 pts)Did not qualify6th place [16]
An asterisk (*) indicates single match
Notes
  1. ↑ Despite not qualifying initially, Zus Coffee accepted the invitation to join the 2025 Invitational Conference.

Individual awards

Team captains

Head coach

Imports

References

  1. ↑ "Philippine's billionaire Frank Lao buys 35% stake in Malaysian coffee shop Zus". The Star. Star Media Group Bhd. March 22, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Dannug, Jonash (January 13, 2024). "SGA takes over Gerflor in PVL". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  3. ↑ "PVL probes Gerflor over allegations of delayed salaries, mistreatment". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ "PVL puts Gerflor under investigation". Tiebreaker Times. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ Agcaoili, Lance (November 9, 2023). "Gerflor team playing through low morale in PVL amid financial woes". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ Dukha, Angel III (December 31, 2023). "Acaylar, disbanded Gerflor squad await their fates". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Strong Group joins PVL, takes over Gerflor franchise". GMA News. January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ Garcia, John Mark (February 21, 2024). "Versoza thankful to SGA for giving PVL chance to players 'without connections'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Jerry Yee takes helm, picks up Benilde seniors to form Zus Coffee". Tiebreaker Times. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  10. ↑ Bautista, Ohmer (February 15, 2024). "PVL: SGA tempers expectations with All-Filipino Conference lineup". One Sports. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  11. ↑ "PVL: Strong Group rebrands as Zus Coffee Thunderbelles and with Jerry Yee as new coach". One Sports. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Akari cruises past Strong Group, finishes 7th". Premier Volleyball League. April 27, 2024. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Creamline clinches No.3 seed, clobbers ZUS Coffee". Premier Volleyball League. August 22, 2024. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Petro Gazz stays cool under fire to sweep Zus Coffee, completes semis cast". Premier Volleyball League. March 25, 2025. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
  15. ↑ "PLDT cruises to semis behind Davison's return, net dominance" . Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Creamline barges into bronze medal match, thwarts ZUS Coffee" . Retrieved August 29, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Kurashiki's Asaka Tamaru to strengthen Zus Coffee". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ "ZUS Coffee taps US NCAA standout Anna DeBeer for PVL Reinforced push" . Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  19. ↑ Dannug, Jonash (September 19, 2025). "ZUS Coffee lands American spiker DeBeer in bid to erase Reinforced Conference struggles". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
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