Riza Nogales turned her draft-day doubts into a breakthrough moment as she clinched the second Best Middle Blocker award in the 2025 PVL Invitational for the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.
From almost going undrafted to becoming one of the league's most promising rookies, Riza Nogales’ journey has turned into one of the PVL's success stories after bagging her first individual award in 2025 Invitational.
The ZUS Coffee middle blocker, who was once projected as a first-rounder before a partial ACL tear derailed her draft stock, slid all the way to the third round, where the Thunderbelles took a chance on her with the 25th overall pick.
Now, that leap of faith has paid off. Nogales emerged as one of the top blockers in the 2025 PVL Invitational, finishing second overall with an average of 0.59 rejections per set for a total of 10 blocks in the tournament.
“Actually, ngayong umaga ko lang nalaman. Hindi ko in-expect. Sobrang happy and thankful kasi siyempre from ’yung draft night na muntik parang hindi pa ako ma-draft pero ayun nandito ako ngayon,” Nogales said.
The rookie credited the Thunderbelles for helping speed up her recovery and for believing in her potential despite her injury.
“Siyempre, I had an injury, so ’yung focus muna namin is magpagaling para makabalik agad. Super thankful talaga ako sa ZUS kasi inalagaan nila ako para mas makabalik ng mas maaga,” she said.
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But more than the award, Nogales sees her first PVL plum as a confidence boost and a reminder that her perseverance is paying off.
“Malaking bagay ito sakin na makakuha ng award. Siyempre, isang malaking bagay ito para ma-boost 'yung confidence ko pa and para mas maging hungry pa, mag-work hard pa para sa mga susunod na laro,” she said.
Come the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference, Nogales is expected to be a major piece in ZUS Coffee’s campaign, alongside fellow middle blockers Thea Gagate, AC Miner, Maika Ortiz, and Sharya Ancheta.