Farm Fresh produced the worthiest win in the three-week old Premier Volleyball All-Filipino Conference, stunning the favored Chery Tiggo side, 25-23, 25-22, 25-16, to stir up play in the preliminaries at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan Saturday night.
The victory not only tied the Foxies with the Crossovers at 2-2 but also sent a strong signal to other top-caliber teams, including Petro Gazz, Farm Fresh’s next opponent on March 14 at the Philsports Arena.
Trisha Tubu put up another stellar play in their continuing rise to volley stardom, finishing with 18 points. She anchored the Foxies stretch-run assault in the first set and spearheaded the team’s surge in the second, highlighted by four straight points for a 14-8 lead.
The Foxies actually lost three set points, including a foiled Alyssa Bertolano attack, 22-24, but Rizza Cruz bailed them out with a resounding kill, giving Farm Fresh a commanding 2-0 set lead.
As the pressure mounted in the third frame, the Foxies never wavered, displaying the same grit and determination they showed in the previous sets, leading to the stirring victory in one hour and 15 minutes.
“This game is very important, it will be our motivation against Petro Gazz, a team known for its strength,” said Tubu in Pilipino. She also acknowledged her coaches for their unwavering support and encouragement.
“Sobrang patient ng mga coaches namin, they always remind me that it’s okay to make mistakes, basta kailangan lang na bumawi,” added the former Adamson U standout.
The highly commendable win came after Farm Fresh dropped a three-set setback to Akari last Tuesday while matching its straight-set romp over Capital1 last Feb. 29.
The Foxies opened the season with four-set defeat to the powerhouse Creamline Cool Smashers last Feb. 24.
Contributing to the triumph were Chinnie Arroyo, who fired away 11 points, Cruz, who finished with seven points, middle Aprylle Tagsip, who chipped in five markers, and Kate Santiago and Caitlyn Viray, who scored three markers each.
Skipper Louie Romero likewise shone with her playmaking prowess, putting up a 27-excellent set showing, upstaging Chery Tiggo’s Jasmine Nabor, who had 12. Janel Delerio and Bertolano also matched eight excellent digs.
Bertolano also finished with eight receptions and two points.
Eya Laure paced Chery Tiggo with 11 points but Mylene Paat struggled for eight points and EJ Laure, Aby Maraño, Shaya Adorador and Ara Galang could only churn out four markers apiece.
In the third set, Farm Fresh cashed in on Chery Tiggo’s apparent loss of will to fight, racing to a 13-8 lead. Not even Chery Tiggo coach Kungfu Reyes’ consecutive timeouts could slow down the Foxies, who held the Crossovers at bay with side-outs before Sofia Ildefonso scored on a hit to make it a 15-9 bulge.
Another mishit by Cess Robles gave Farm Fresh a seven-point cushion and the Foxies rolled to the finish with Tubu notching her 18th point with a through-the-block hit that put the team at match point. 24-16.
Chery Tiggo challenged EJ Laure’s last attack that was ruled long, and lost, sealing the morale-boosting win for Farm Fresh.
