Foxies fly high, bag 2nd victory

Trisha Tubu took the spotlight with another monster game to carry young and spunky Farm Fresh past sister team ZUS Coffee, 26-24, 13-25, 25-21, 25-19, for a second straight victory in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference Thursday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The high-flying winger soared for 28 points built on 27 attacks and one kill block in leading the Foxies to an even 2-2 win-loss record tied with their victim.

Tubu’s energy and relentless offense, which came six points shy of tying her career-high set during last season’s All-Filipino Conference, carried Farm Fresh back into the match after a shaky first two sets.

The Foxies had to ignite an uprising to steal the extended first frame but struggled in form in the second set before regaining their bearing to halt the streaking Thunderbelles’ two-game win run in two hours and three minutes.

“We observe how they move. If we see them veering away from their normal movement we try to correct them and get them back in the right direction. That’s what happened in the first two sets,” Farm Fresh coach Benson Bocboc said.

“They were really off so we still have to work on that.”

But Tubu came to the rescue with crucial kills, particularly in the fourth set when the Foxies sparked a 9-2 run to shatter a 14-14 deadlock.

Tubu gave Farm Fresh a 23-16 lead in the fourth frame with a perfectly-time kill block. ZUS Coffee answered with back-to-back points to cut its deficit to five but Sharya Ancheta committed the last of the squad’s 24 errors with an overcooked serve, putting the Foxies at match point.

Top overall pick Thea Gagate saved match point for the Thunderbelles before Tubu unleashed the game-winning kill.

“First of all, it’s about our teamwork. There are still lapses but good thing we were able to bounce back,” Tubu said.