It’s rare that Creamline loses two games in a row. But on Saturday night, ZUS Coffee turned rare into real.

The Thunderbelles, a franchise once stuck in the PVL’s basement, are no longer just a feel-good story. They’re looking to seriously compete now—and they proved it by outlasting Creamline, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-11, for their first franchise victory over the 10-time league champions at City of Passi Arena in Iloilo.

For coach Jerry Yee and his scrappy, still-developing crew, it was a statement years in the making.

“Of course, we’re happy because it’s against Creamline,” Yee said in Filipino. “But we still have to work. What matters is we’re seeing improvement, slowly but surely.”

Chinnie Arroyo spearheaded the Thunderbelles’ breakthrough with a career-best 23 points, drilling 22 kills and an ace in front of a crowd cheering heavily for the Cool Smashers. Rookie middle blocker AC Miner added 16, while veteran Jov Gonzaga chipped in 12, including timely hits in the decider.

“We kept reminding ourselves that yes, Creamline is a crowd favorite, but we shouldn’t let that affect us. We just kept fighting and didn’t let the crowd get to us,” Arroyo said.

Creamline, reeling from a straight-sets loss to Cignal two weeks earlier, now finds itself at 2-2—an unusual spot for a team used to running down opponents. INQ