Five-set foxies
Farm Fresh and ZUS Coffee are two of the youngest franchises in the PVL.
But in a five-set thriller that ended up being a test of nerves, the Foxies had a more experienced roster that helped them turn back the Thunderbelles, 25-21, 16-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-10, in the All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Thursday at PhilSports Arena.
It was the fourth straight five-setter for the Foxies, with Royse Tubino exhibiting the kind of guile missing from a younger ZUS crew. Tubino outwitted blockers in front of her to help her team complete a comeback that hiked its record to 3-2 (win-loss) and share third place with Choco Mucho.
“It comes down to experience and being smarter on the court,” Tubino said. “When a match goes to five sets, you can’t just keep relying on powerful spikes. You also have to use the blockers’ hands and find other ways to score. It’s all about being more strategic.”
“In the fifth set, you really have to play with heart because … it’s no longer a race to 25 points but just 15.”
The 33-year-old wing spiker, who finished with 20 points—all from attacks—relished having fellow veterans Ces Molina, Ria Meneses, Mylene Paat-Rezanova, Remy Palma and Ara Galang to lead a talented core of young stars led by reigning season MVP Trisha Tubu.
“The younger players are good listeners,” added Tubino. “They follow what the seniors tell them and are very cooperative.”
“It’s really a team effort. I always tell my teammates that we have to want to win. That’s the most basic thing—we can’t just take things easy. We’ve been playing in this long league, and ZUS Coffee has always been one of our regular opponents, so they already know how we play. We have to work twice as hard.”
Molina added 18 points for Farm Fresh, including the game-winning hit. She also had 17 excellent receptions and 12 digs. Tubu added 18 points.
Farm Fresh still has the semifinals in sight, but Tubino said the team needs more consistency if it wants to draw closer to its goal.
“I think it’s about maintaining our momentum. Sometimes we win the first set, but when things change in the second, we lose our momentum. We really need to get used to this kind of setup in the PVL and learn how to stay consistent throughout the match,” she said.
“We’ll continue giving our best, especially in training, because that’s where our performance starts. We have to work on our game during practice so we can bring everything we’ve learned into our matches.”
Farm Fresh battles PLDT on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, while the Thunderbelles continue to hunt for a win against the Galeries Tower HighRisers, who are fresh from a breakthrough victory.
ZUS Coffee remained winless in five games despite AC Miner’s 21 points.
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