ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles freshman Thea Gagate in her PVL All-Filipino Conference debut. –PVL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – With a chip on her shoulder as the top overall pick of the first-ever PVL Rookie Draft, Thea Gagate made her highly anticipated professional debut and was immediately greeted by a battle against her former La Salle teammates.
Gagate was as good as advertised as she delivered a team-high 13 points with 11 attacks, a block and an ace, but her debut was marred by a 14-25, 21-25, 25-19, 23-25 loss to the early leader Akari of the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference on Thursday evening at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City.
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Although she had physical issues before her debut, the 6-foot-10 middle blocker was pleased with her performance and accepted the high expectations to help the winless Thunderbelles win this season.
SCHEDULE: PVL All-Filipino Conference 2024-2025
“Honestly, it has some weight to it, but I try to look at it positively so I don’t feel pressured. I know my abilities and trust my team – we know we can win games,” said Gagate.
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“I am grateful. To be honest, I didn’t expect to score in double figures because I’m going through some things along the way, but at the same time I’m happy with the result of our game. You can see the fight in us, even though we are a new team.”
Gagate, who missed the Reinforced Conference due to her stint with Alas Pilipinas, was excited to compete against her former La Salle teammates Fifi Sharma and Mich Cobb.
READ: PVL: Thea Gagate is a big help for ZUS in every sense of the word, but winning is still a process
“Of course it’s a bit strange because we’ve been together for so long, even in our La Salle days, so it’s unusual now that we’re on opposite sides. But at the same time we are excited because this is something new for us,” she said. “You can really see that RDJ’s (Ramil De Jesus) system is still in place and that’s definitely a factor. You know how to read them, and that’s an advantage because you both grew up with the same system.”
The 24-year-old rookie is simply grateful for all the blessings she has received this year despite missing the UAAP finals in her final year with the Lady Spikers. She was part of Alas Pilipinas’ three bronze medals and became the Professional Volleyball League’s first-ever top selection.
“I just trusted what the Lord had planned for me. “I didn’t expect the result to be so good, but at the same time I’m happy because I learned so much from the national team and that’s a big thing for me, especially now that I’m coming to the PVL,” said Gagate.
READ: PVL: Thea Gagate hopes to build ‘synergy’ with new teammates
Gagate’s personal goals are to continue to reach her full potential, help the Thunderbelles establish a winning culture and learn from the best professional teams in the country.
“As a rookie, I obviously just want to show what I’m capable of. Even though I’ve already shown it in my college days, this is a whole new level, so I just want to continue to improve, especially in all aspects of my skills since I’m one of the greatest players here,” Gagate said.
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“We didn’t get the result we wanted today, which was a win. But we are grateful that this conference is long so we can work more on our relationship on and off the field.”