Staying foxy
Farm Fresh keeps Final Four bid alive
ROYSE Tubino provides the firepower in Farm Fresh’s 25-21, 16-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10 victory over ZUS Coffee on Thursday in the PVL Season 10 All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series at the Philsports Arena.
Photograph by Joey sanchez Mendoza for DAILY TRIBUNE
Games tomorrow:
(Philsports Arena)
1 p.m. — Nxled vs Capital1
6 p.m. — Choco Mucho vs Akari
Farm Fresh’s experience and grit played a key role in its victory in yet another endurance battle.
Royse Tubino, Ces Molina and Trisha Tubu stepped up in the Foxies’ fourth straight five-setter match to beat sister team ZUS Coffee, 25-21, 16-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10, in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Season 10 All-Filipino Conference Siklab series on Thursday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The trio delivered the goods as Farm Fresh rebounded from a setback to revive its Final Four seat bid while keeping the Thunderbelles winless. The Foxies improved to a 3-2 win-loss record and climbed into a share of third to fourth with idle Choco Mucho.
Tubino scored 20 points, all on attacks in a 20-of-58 spiking clip, to lead Farm Fresh, which split its last four outings that went into five sets.
“It’s a team effort. I told my teammates that we must want to get the win. We can’t just relax against ZUS Coffee because we’ve been playing against them even in tune-up matches for a long time. They know us very well so, we have to double our effort,” Tubino said of the team’s hard-fought win.
Molina added a triple-double of 18 points on 13 kills and five kill blocks on top of 12 digs and 17 excellent receptions for Farm Fresh.
Tubu had 17 points, 16 coming from attacks while setter Alohi Robins-Hardy tallied 15 excellent sets for the Foxies.
Farm Fresh showed composure after falling behind, 1-2, in the match as the Foxies built an early lead in the fourth frame to force a decider.
Sustaining the momentum it set in the fourth frame, Farm Fresh raced to a 9-3 advantage to control the decider.
The Foxies reached match point, 14-6, but the Thunderbelles refused to surrender without a fight and mounted a 4-0 run.
It could’ve been five straight points for ZUS Coffee after game officials called Molina’s attack out.
Farm Fresh challenged the call and won the review, sealing the two-hour, 24-minute triumph.
Foxies assistant coach Benson Bocboc admitted that ZUS Coffee forced them to adjust their offense especially with the Thunderbelles’ playing great defense on the net.
In fact, ZUS Coffee scored 18 kill blocks with Zam Nolasco and Jolina Dela Cruz accounting for half of the team’s output.
“We have to shake things up because ZUS knows how we move, how we attack. They know everything and they’re ready for us. They are fearless and will fight until the end,” Bocboc said.
“We needed to stop all those chances of them fighting back to get the points. If we didn’t, they are very much capable of flipping the result.”
The Thunderbelles suffered a fifth straight defeat and remained the only team yet to taste victory in the tournament.
AC Miner finished with 21 points on 18 kills and three kill blocks to lead ZUS Coffee.
Dela Cruz chipped in 17 points built on 13 attacks and four kill blocks while Nolasco scored 16 in a losing effort.