Donuts fuel Petro Gazz’s hot streak

Petro Gazz is red-hot as it posted seven straight victories to tighten its grip on the second spot entering the final stretch of the preliminaries of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference.

But it isn’t their fiery offense or airtight defense that fuels these high-flying Angels.

Setter Djannel Cheng said their Japanese coach, Koji Tsuzurabara, had introduced a unique tradition of feeding them with donuts to energize them during game days.

She said their coach’s sugary treat uplifts their mood that allows them to communicate properly, especially when the game is on the line.

“When we notice a problem, we address it immediately. We can’t just put it off until tomorrow. And maybe it’s also because of Coach’s donuts — those donuts are expensive, right?” a smiling Cheng said after leading Petro Gazz to an easy 25-19, 25-18, 25-9 win over Capital1 late Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.

Middle blocker Remy Palma agrees, saying that the Japanese’s unique motivational approach is playing a crucial role to their success.

“That’s part of what we believe in. Coach Koji buys five boxes of donuts for us every game,” Palma said.

A veteran mentor who had already coached for national and club teams in Vietnam, Myamnar, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan, Tsuzurabara fully knows that he has to make the players happy to unlock their full potential inside the court.

With that, he decided to bring in everybody’s favorite — donuts — every game.

“I have a new perspective now. Do not stop the hamburger, chocolate, donut — anything. I used to think that it should stop,” the 60-year-old mentor said.

“But everyone can change their mind or heart as long as it can improve their performance.”

True enough, the sugar rush puts the Angels on a hot streak.

After an initial setback against league-leading Creamline, Petro Gazz bounced back with a commanding series of victories, defeating Farm Fresh, Akari, PLDT, Cignal, Chery Tiggo, ZUS Coffee, and most recently, Capital1. Their dominant run boosted their record to 8-1 to secure the second spot entering the knockout playoffs.

During that run, Brooke Van Sickle and Myla Pablo have been leading the charge in scoring, while Jonah Sabete, MJ Phillips, and Palma have provided valuable contributions on both ends of the court.

Palma said it took a while before the Japanese mentor realized what their hearts desire.

“There’s actually a story behind it. At first, somehow, he didn’t really like our culture of eating during training or games,” the veteran blocker said.

“Now, I guess he has adapted to it. We’re Filipinos — we love food, everyone knows that. And then we were surprised when he started bringing food — donuts — whatever it was, and giving them to us. So we said, ‘Hey, it looks like Coach is slowly becoming Filipino.’”

Clearly, for as long as the Angels are winning, the donuts will keep flowing.