Yee, who builds programs from scratch, believes Thunderbelles’ time will come
Veteran coach Jerry Yee believes that for a young franchise to win it all in the PVL, it needs experience and a consistent hunger to go over the top.
That’s what the astute tactician came to terms with after the dream run of his fast-rising ZUS Coffee ended with a silver medal following a finals defeat to old guard Petro Gazz.
Yee isn’t picking up the lesson merely from the Thunderbelles’ stint in the Reinforced Conference; he is also digging into his experience from building the foundations of the Angels’ championship lore.
“I’m not saying the team wasn’t hungry or that [the players] were complacent,” Yee said. “But I think the real answer is experience. It really shows how difficult it is to be in that moment and manage everything that comes with it.”
“You need hunger, consistent hunger,” the ZUS Coffee coach said in Filipino.
ZUS Coffee showed the depth of its talent and the shades of its hunger in the first set as it displayed the vaunted performance that allowed the Thunderbelles to dominate most of the tournament.
“People saw how capable we are, but we had a lot of self-doubt,” Yee said.
That doubt was in the shadows early as Anna DeBeer personified the youthful spark the Thunderbelles used to overwhelm foes on the way to the final.
But then, experience reared its head at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Petro Gazz turned to returning import Lindsey Vander Weide and the All-Filipino championship trio of MJ Phillips, Brooke Van Sickle and Myla Pablo to win its fourth PVL crown—third in the Reinforced conference—with a 21-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 victory in the winner-take-all final late Sunday.
“Hopefully, we can draw lessons from this run,” Yee said.
There are many other parallels the Thunderbelles can draw from as they turn their gaze to the future.
Yee recalled how the Angels also started from scratch when he started building their roots. Yee was head coach of Petro Gazz in 2018 and was promoted to program head, a position he used wisely to steer the Angels to championships in 2019 and 2022.
And that’s the same thing he wants to do for ZUS Coffee.
No expectations
“I think that’s my niche, building something from zero, from scratch,” Yee said. “I’ve done it with other teams before. Even the team we faced in the finals started like that, too.
“But you can already see signs that we can do it … and that next time, we can bounce back.”
The Thunderbelles still made their coaches and management proud after a franchise that once had a 20-game losing streak last year made the leap to their first-ever championship game.
“Even entering the semis, management didn’t expect us to get that far. They were very, very happy already. They told us, ‘No pressure, you made it this far, we’re happy,’” Yee said.
ZUS Coffee might not need to wait long for the franchise’s breakthrough. Yee has signed veterans Jov Gonzaga, Alyssa Eroa and Chinnie Arroyo—all of whom can fast-track the learning process of young stars Thea Gagate, AC Miner and Riza Nogales.
That’s a potent mix, one that this defeat will help get stronger.
“Of course, there was sadness and regret, but there was also celebration,” Yee said, branding the team’s medal as a silver that shone like gold. “It was a magical run. Hopefully, we stay motivated coming back.”
