ZUS Coffee and Petro Gazz try to forge a four-way tie at third place when they clash with separate rivals on Thursday, Dec. 5, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Sporting identical 2-1 cards, a victory for both the Thunderbelles and the Angels would put them in a four-way logjam with the PLDT High Speed Hitters and the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, just half a game behind league leaders Creamline and Cignal.

ZUS Coffee seeks to extend its back-to-back victories in its 4 p.m. tussle with Farm Fresh, while Petro Gazz also guns a follow-up from its recent three-set win when it collides with Akari at 6:30 p.m.

The Thunderbelles are slowly rising to the occasion and making their title campaign felt known following recent wins against the Galeries Tower Highrisers and the Nxled Chameleons, and expect them to go full force anew against the equally young Foxies.

Chinnine Arroyo and Glaudine Troncoso, who led ZUS Coffee the last time with combined 25 points, are expected to step up anew along with top rookie draft pick Thea Gagate and setter Cloanne Mondonedo.

But they will have to double their efforts as the Foxies are fresh from a morale-boosting win over the Akari Chargers that saw Trisha Tubu exploding for 21 points.

Apart from Tubu, Farm Fresh also has Louie Romero directing their offensive plays along Caitlyn Viray and Rizza Cruz manning the frontline.

In the other pairing, Petro Gazz also seeks to maintain its momentum with Brooke Van Sickle, Aiza Pontillas and Myla Pablo leading its charge against Akari’s own lethal weapons in Ivy Lacsina, CJ Soyud and Fifi Sharma.

The Chargers are hoping to bounce back from two straight defeats from the Foxies and the Cool Smashers that put them at 2-2.