The 10th-ranked Galeries Tower Highrisers became the first team to make it to the quarterfinals of the 2024–25 PVL All-Filipino Conference, doing so with a stunning 25-17, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19 upset of the 3rd-ranked Cignal HD Spikers at the onset of the Qualifying Round.
One player who made this historic upset possible was Ysa Jimenez, who took on a leadership role for the young squad and also delivered some much-needed firepower. The former UST Golden Tigress fired a team-high 23 points on 22 attacks to spearhead the Highrisers’ inspired effort that made them the first team to book a quarters seat despite getting only one win in the preliminaries.
“Worth it lahat ng pagod. Sabi nga ni coach, sobrang dami naming pinagdaanan to the point na kinekwestyon na rin namin na ‘Ano na bang nangyayari sa pinagpapaguran natin na ‘to?’” Jimenez said after Galeries clinched their monumental upset. “Sabi lang po sa amin ni coach na no pressure yung game na ‘to kasi wala namang mawawala eh. Confident kami kasi hindi kami nagkulang sa preparations.”
Indeed, the Highrisers came prepared against Cignal—and no one was more ready than Jimenez, who scored 13 more points than the 10 she averaged in 11 preliminary round games for Galeries. For this superlative showing, the PVL Press Corps voted Jimenez as the league’s latest Player of the Week, beating out teammate Alyssa Eroa and marquee names like Brooke Van Sickle of the Petro Gazz Angels and Sisi Rondina of the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.
Consistency Is Key as Ysa Jimenez, Galeries Look to Build on Historic Win
Now that the Highrisers have made a breakthrough by entering the quarters, coach Lerma Giron is looking for consistency from her young team.
“Kailangan namin panindigan ‘to. Inilaban namin sa stage na ‘to, alam namin ‘yung pupuntahan namin sa next level, talagang very challenging. Hindi na pwede dito ‘yung on-and-off,” Giron said. “Tiwala ako sa mga players na ‘to and even sa coaches. Kahit lumuha ulit kami ng dugo, ng bato, kasi nandito na kami. At ito naman din ‘yung gusto namin. Kaya by God’s grace, paninindigan namin ‘to.”
The Hightowers already made history. It wouldn’t hurt to make some more, right? Best believe Ysa Jimenez will be leading the charge.
