Zus Coffee Thunderbelles

Zus Coffee Thunderbelles

Short name	Zus Coffee
Nickname	Thunderbelles
Founded	2024
Owner	Strong Group Athletics
Head coach	Jerry Yee
Captain	Cloanne Mondoñedo
League	Premier Volleyball League
2025 Reinforced	Runner-up
2024–25 season

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]

The team made their team debut in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference under the name Strong Group Athletics following the organization's take over 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

Background

Further information: Quezon City Gerflor Defenders

During the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference, the Quezon City Gerflor Defenders were put under investigation by the league due to financial issues. ^{[2] [3] [4]} The roster's unpaid salaries were eventually settled by Strong Group Athletics, backers of the Farm Fresh Foxies. On January 13, 2024, it was announced that Strong Group Athletics would take over the Gerflor franchise beginning with the 2024 Premier Volleyball League season, and were established as the organization's second team after Farm Fresh. ^{[5] [6]}

First seasons

They made their PVL debut at the 2024 All-Filipino Conference. ^[7] Interim coach Rogelio Getigan led the team under the name "Strong Group Athletics" in their first tournament. ^{[8] [9]}

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. ^[10]

Zus Cofee reached their first ever PVL finals at the 2025 Reinforced Conference. ^{[11] [12]} They lost the bid for a tournament title against the Petro Gazz Angels. ^[13]

Names

• Strong Group Athletics (2024 All-Filipino)
• Zus Coffee Thunderbelles (2024 Reinforced–present)

Current roster

Main article: 2025 Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference

Zus Coffee Thunderbelles roster
No.	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Height	DOB	From
1		Mycah Go	Outside Hitter		(2002-04-15) April 15, 2002 (age 23)	St. Benilde
2		Caroline Santos	Middle Blocker	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)		De La Salle
3		Thea Gagate	Middle Blocker	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)	(2000-07-06) July 6, 2000 (age 25)	De La Salle
4		Kate Santiago	Outside Hitter	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	(2002-01-26) January 26, 2002 (age 23)	Adamson
5		Glaudine Troncoso	Outside Hitter	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	(1997-10-13) October 13, 1997 (age 28)	Central Philippine
6		Julia Angeles	Libero	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)	(1998-09-01) September 1, 1998 (age 27)	Letran
7		Jade Gentapa	Outside Hitter	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	(2000-11-28) November 28, 2000 (age 25)	St. Benilde
8		Jovelyn Gonzaga	Opposite Hitter	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)	(1991-10-31) October 31, 1991 (age 34)	Central Philippine
9		Gayle Pascual	Opposite Hitter	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	(1999-09-03) September 3, 1999 (age 26)	St. Benilde
10		Chinnie Pia Arroyo	Outside Hitter	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	(2001-05-19) May 19, 2001 (age 24)	National-U
11		Wielyn Estoque	Outside Hitter	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)	(2001-04-08) April 8, 2001 (age 24)	St. Benilde
12		Renee Mabilangan	Setter	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)	(2000-12-29) December 29, 2000 (age 24)	National-U
13		Sharya Ancheta	Middle Blocker	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)	(1999-11-25) November 25, 1999 (age 26)	Adamson
14		Dolly Versoza	Outside Hitter	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)	(1998-03-10) March 10, 1998 (age 27)	José Rizal
15		Alexis Ciarra Miner	Middle Blocker		(2003-01-21) January 21, 2003 (age 22)	Ateneo
16		Alyssa Eroa	Libero	1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)	(1996-09-06) September 6, 1996 (age 29)	San Sebastian
17		Fiola Ceballos	Outside Hitter	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)	(1994-06-21) June 21, 1994 (age 31)	Central Philippine
18		Anna DeBeer	Outside Hitter	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)	(2001-09-25) September 25, 2001 (age 24)	Louisville
19		Riza Nogales	Middle Blocker		(2002-12-03) December 3, 2002 (age 23)	UE
21		Cloanne Mondoñedo  (C)	Setter	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)	(2000-11-16) November 16, 2000 (age 25)	St. Benilde
24		Maika Ortiz	Middle Blocker	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)	(1991-08-30) August 30, 1991 (age 34)	UST
Updated as of: September 19, 2025 | Source: PVL.ph

Coaching staff Head coach: Jerry Yee Assistant coaches: Rogelio Getigan Justine Dorog Mark Santos Strength & conditioning coach: Paul Ericta & Jimbo Arceo

Team staff Team manager: Jacob Lao

Medical staff Physiotherapist: Juana Roxas

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Season-by-season records

Season	Conference	Preliminary round	Final round	Ranking	Source
2024 (team)	All-Filipino	12th (0–11, 0 pts)	Did not qualify	12th place	[14]
	Reinforced	12th (0–8, 0 pts)	Did not qualify	12th place	[15]
	Invitational	Did not qualify
2024–25 (team)	All-Filipino	9th (4–7, 14 pts)	Lost in quarterfinals vs. Petro Gazz, 1–2 [a]	7th place	[16]
	PVL on Tour	5th (2–3, 7 pts) (Pool A)	Lost in quarterfinals vs. PLDT, 0–3	7th place	[17]
	Invitational [b]	6th (0–5, 0 pts)	Did not qualify	6th place	[18]
	Reinforced	2nd (7–1, 20 pts)	Won in quarterfinals vs. Capital1, 3–0 Won in semifinals vs. PLDT, 3–0 Lost in championship vs. Petro Gazz, 1–3	Runner-up	[19]

Notes

1. Best-of-three series.
2. Despite not qualifying initially, Zus Coffee accepted the invitation to join the 2025 Invitational Conference.

Individual awards

PVLPC Rookie of the Year Thea Gagate – 2025 Best Setter Cloanne Mondoñedo – 2025 Reinforced Rookie of the Conference Shayra Ancheta – 2024 Reinforced AC Miner – 2025 Reinforced

1st Best Middle Blocker Thea Gagate – 2024–25 All-Filipino 2nd Best Middle Blocker Rizza Nogales — 2025 Invitational Best Foreign Guest Player Anna DeBeer [13] — 2025 Reinforced

Team captains

• Dolly Verzosa (2024)
• Cloanne Mondoñedo (2024–present)

Head coach

• Rogelio Getigan (2024)
• Jerry Yee (2024–present)

Imports

• Asaka Tamaru ^[20] (2024)
• Anna DeBeer ^{[21] [22]} (2025)

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. "PVL probes Gerflor over allegations of delayed salaries, mistreatment". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
3. "PVL puts Gerflor under investigation". Tiebreaker Times. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
4. Agcaoili, Lance (November 9, 2023). "Gerflor team playing through low morale in PVL amid financial woes". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
5. Dannug, Jonash (January 13, 2024). "SGA takes over Gerflor in PVL". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
6. "Strong Group joins PVL, takes over Gerflor franchise". GMA News. January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
7. 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.
8. "Jerry Yee takes helm, picks up Benilde seniors to form Zus Coffee". Tiebreaker Times. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
9. Bautista, Ohmer (February 15, 2024). "PVL: SGA tempers expectations with All-Filipino Conference lineup". One Sports. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
10. "PVL: Strong Group rebrands as Zus Coffee Thunderbelles and with Jerry Yee as new coach". One Sports. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
11. Garcia, John Mark (November 28, 2025). "Is ZUS Coffee really the underdog in PVL Finals vs Petro Gazz?". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
12. Garcia, John Mark (November 29, 2025). "'Ate Jov' helps steer young ZUS Coffee to breakthrough finals". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
13. Dannug, Jonash (November 30, 2025). "Petro Gazz powers past ZUS Coffee to reclaim PVL Reinforced crown". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
14. "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.
15. "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.
16. "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.
17. "PLDT cruises to semis behind Davison's return, net dominance" . Retrieved August 7, 2025.
18. "Creamline barges into bronze medal match, thwarts ZUS Coffee" . Retrieved August 29, 2025.
19. "Petro Gazz reignites to take third PVL Reinforced title" . Retrieved November 30, 2025.
20. "Kurashiki's Asaka Tamaru to strengthen Zus Coffee". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
21. "ZUS Coffee taps US NCAA standout Anna DeBeer for PVL Reinforced push" . Retrieved September 19, 2025.
22. Dannug, Jonash (September 19, 2025). "ZUS Coffee lands American spiker DeBeer in bid to erase Reinforced Conference struggles". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved September 19, 2025.