Long way to mountaintop
Cloanne Mondoñedo finished her NCAA stint with flying colors.
The playmaker was named—unexpectedly—the MVP of the country’s oldest varsity league on top of leading College of St. Benilde (CSB) to three consecutive championships.
However, her success hasn’t translated to the PVL Reinforced Conference. Mondoñedo runs the offense for rebranded and revamped ZUS Coffee, formerly Strong Group Athletics, which wrapped up a second straight season without a win.
“I was really excited returning to PVL and then at the same time I was open to learning because I know that the professional and collegiate levels are very different,” Mondoñedo told the Inquirer.
The Lady Blazers, Mondoñedo included, finished fourth in the Collegiate conference back in 2019 when the league was not yet professional, and formed the core of the first Farm Fresh roster in 2023—which is why the St. Benilde standout did not need to go through the Draft.
But nothing prepared Mondoñedo for her team’s struggles in her first pro stint still under collegiate mentor Jerry Yee and with teammates Mich Gamit, Gayle Pascual and Jade Gentapa, who unfortunately suffered an apparent left knee injury in the ongoing conference.
Recognizing that the pro league is playing on a much higher level now, the Thunderbelles are taking their first conference as a learning curve.
“Right now, I am trying to gain [experience and learning] from the veterans that we play against every game,” Mondoñedo said.
“We’re just thinking about ourselves and what we need to do. We’re not thinking about our foes or anything else; just focus on us and show to everyone what we have,” she added.
It’s only the beginning for Mondoñedo as she trusts Yee to guide ZUS Coffee to better results.
“When we joined CSB, coach Jerry said he had a plan for us until the future. This is it; it’s already starting,” the 23-year-old playmaker said. “We are happy to still be intact and it won’t be hard for us to connect anymore since we have been together for a long time.”
“It’s just like that, every team scouts so we know that even if we are new, they have been watching or studying us. That’s the challenge for us now: how will we be different because we can’t do the same thing every time,” she added.
One of those different things comes in the form of 6-foot-2 middle blocker Thea Gagate whom ZUS Coffee selected first overall in the first-ever Rookie Draft.
Gagate has not yet suited up for the Thunderbelles because of national team duties but her team has been awaiting her arrival as she is expected to provide a lot of things to lift her pro club by the next All-Filipino Conference.
Even after experiencing a rough patch, Mondoñedo and ZUS Coffee are still happy to get the opportunity to compete. But what’s even better is they get a new chance to improve.
“Of course, better things will come,” Mondoñedo said.
