Foxies back in hunt, feast on error-prone Thunderbelles
At A Glance
- It was a near-flawless, businesslike performance from the Foxies, who needed just 75 minutes to complete the sweep for their second win in four matches.
Jolina Dela Cruz steers Farm Fresh past ZUS Coffee. (PVL Images)
Farm Fresh dismantled an erratic ZUS Coffee side, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18, in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the FilOil Playtime Centre in San Juan Saturday, Feb. 21.
It was a near-flawless, businesslike performance from the Foxies, who needed just 75 minutes to complete the sweep for their second win in four matches.
Trisha Tubu paced the attack with 16 points, while Jolina dela Cruz added 13 as Farm Fresh controlled the tempo from the opening serve.
More telling was the Foxies' efficiency, looking far more composed compared to their early losses to Nxled and Cignal by committing just four errors in the first two sets -- a stark contrast to the Thunderbelles' string of unforced miscues -- before finishing with just two in the third.
For Jolina dela Cruz, who earned Best Player of the Game honors, the victory was fueled by the team’s determination to climb the standings after a shaky start.
“Our motivation is to improve our standing. We never stopped preparing even after two losses,” said dela Cruz in Filipino. “Coach (Koji Tsuzurabab)a never let up in training and really worked on changing our mindset as a team. Our young players have also been complementing the veterans well.”
Her performance reflected that renewed focus, as Farm Fresh continued to show growth and cohesion on the court.
While Galeries Tower managed to rebound from that humbling defeat with a stunning four-set upset of Nxled, ZUS Coffee continued to grapple with inconsistency, limited scoring options and a lack of cohesion – issues that were fully exposed in another one-sided loss for a woeful 1-4 card.
Riza Nogales led ZUS Coffee with 11 points, while Fiola Ceballos chipped in nine. Kate Santiago added eight markers and Rachel Ann Daquis contributed six in her debut, but top hitter Chinnie Arroyo struggled, finishing with just two points in a two-set stint.