Top overall pick Thea Gagate isn’t stressing too much about the future amid her productive first year in the PVL with ZUS Coffee.
Thea Gagate continues to live up to the hype as the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft’s first-overall pick by the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.
Since making her long-awaited debut in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference, Gagate has been instrumental in the Thunderbelles’ breakthrough campaign, which was highlighted by their first set of wins during the conference preliminary rounds.
It goes without saying that there is pressure attached to being the first-overall pick, especially for a championship-winning talent like Gagate. By the time she turned pro, the 23-year-old was already a one-time UAAP champion with DLSU, an impressive award that was even accompanied by three Best Middle Blocker nods and an Alas Pilipinas national team call-up.
But for the Cebuana standout, staying in the present has become her secret to avoiding unnecessary pressure as she transitions into the professional ranks with ZUS Coffee.
“Palagi lang naman akong nagsi-stay sa present, ayoko masyadong mag-jump into the future agad kasi bilog naman ‘yung bola. So lahat ng teams talaga palaban kasi pro league na ito. So at least ngayon onti-onti na namin talagang sino-solid ‘yung core namin and excited lang talaga ako sa upcoming games,” Gagate said after ZUS Coffee’s 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17 win over the Capital1 Solar Spikers that booked their first-ever PVL quarterfinals appearance.
By staying in the present, Gagate came through once more in the conference play-in rounds, where a last-chance quarterfinal ticket was up for grabs. The Alas Pilipinas stalwart finished with 16 points against the Cignal HD Spikers last March 11, greatly boosting ZUS Coffee’s quarterfinals bid while disrupting Cignal’s own aspirations.
On Thursday, Gagate finished with 13 markers in ZUS Coffee’s balanced attack against the Solar Spikers, which secured them a best-of-three quarterfinals meeting against Brooke Van Sickle and the Petro Gazz Angels.
Now that the stakes are much higher, Thea Gagate knows that the best approach is to go all-out, especially after she and ZUS Coffee persevered to get this far into the All-Filipino Conference.
“Ako, laban na talaga. Like ‘yun nga, sabi ko kanina, hindi naman madali ‘yung pinagdaanan namin sa situation ngayon, so kailangan na namin ibigay lahat ng efforts, lahat ng paghihirap namin sa training and application talaga sa mga natutunan namin sa qualifying rounds,” the former Lady Spiker said.
Step by step
Thea Gagate’s debut for ZUS Coffee is accompanied by a productive offseason haul led by veterans Jovelyn Gonzaga and Chai Troncoso, who have been equally impactful with their leadership and production for the young squad.
For head coach Jerry Yee, it’s a result of his patience bearing fruit as he turns the Thunderbelles from cellar-dwellers into a legitimate threat in the PVL.
“When we got them, we needed to see kung ano ‘yung ibibigay nila sa team. Hopefully, sabi ko nga, kung merong sasalo ng bola and then may second ball and then may third ball. So, marami pa kaming i-work on pero ayun, slowly nagfa-fall into place ‘yung mga pieces na kailangan namin,” the soft-spoken mentor reflected.
But the job is far from finished for the Thunderbelles, who will kick off their quarterfinals against the Petro Gazz Angels this March 18. On top of the higher stakes, Petro Gazz is also in the midst of its redemption tour, which poses further challenges for the Thunderbelles to conquer.
Easier said than done, but discipline will be key in going toe-to-toe with the title-winning Angels according to Yee.
“Kasi ‘yun na nga, pagka ganitong medyo higher level na, or quarterfinals na, hindi pwedeng ma-error kami. Kailangan mag-execute kami ng mga gusto naming gawin and we have to kumbaga, impose our will kaysa the other way around,” he said.
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.