Focused squarely on claiming the No. 1 seed, Farm Fresh brushed aside its final obstacle with the poise of a true contender, repelling Chery Tiggo to zero in on the coveted top spot in the PVL Reinforced Conference quarterfinals.
The Foxies responded to coach Alessandro Lodi’s familiar, results-driven philosophy, shaking off the Crossovers’ early resistance before wresting control in the crucial stretch to complete a hard-earned 25-17, 25-23, 29-27 victory at the close of their two-phase preliminaries at the MOA Arena on Thursday.
Farm Fresh ended with a 7-1 record and 21 points, edging erstwhile leader ZUS Coffee (7-1, 20 points) in the razor-tight battle for the top of the table. The top-seed picture now boils down to one remaining match – PLDT vs. Petro Gazz.
A straight-set victory by PLDT, currently with a 6-1 slate, will net the High Speed Hitters the top spot but a four- or five-set win or a loss will hand the Foxies the No. 1 spot.
The one-hour, 29-minute victory was anything but smooth, however. The Foxies squandered an eight-point cushion in Set 3 and had to survive three set points before escaping on import Eli Rosseaux’s late-set heroics.
Trisha Tubu and Ces Molina delivered clutch hits to tie the frame at 24 and 26, respectivel, then Rosseaux countered counterpart Yuni Batista’s back-row bullet with her own backrow shot aided by the net. After Batista hammered another kill, the Belgian reinforcement answered yet again before Farm Fresh earned match point on a Batista long attack.
A tense rally followed, punctuated by Rosseaux seemingly hammering the final point – only for play to continue. Forced to challenge a suspected floor touch, the Foxies saw the video review confirm the infraction, sealing not just the match but the inside track to the No. 1 seed.
“We just kept pushing for each point and taking deep breaths to reset,” said setter Alohi Robins-Hardy, who claimed another Best Player of the Game citation with 24 excellent sets plus seven points in a standout performance.
She also praised Chery Tiggo for its spirited third-set fightback.
“Shoutout to Chery Tiggo – they’re an awesome team. They fought and they really battled,” she added.
With the win, Farm Fresh rolled to its fourth straight victory and heads to the knockout quarterfinals carrying momentum, confidence and the aura of a team ready for a title breakthrough.
Still, Robins-Hardy insisted perfection remains a pursuit, not an expectation.
“Nothing absolutely perfect, but we’re striving for that,” she said. “Being a lot steadier throughout the match – no matter how many sets – we’re just going to keep working.”
Rosseaux finished with 20 points, backed by Molina’s 14 and Tubu’s 13. Lorene Toring chipped in eight.
Batista fired 28 for the Crossovers, while Ara Galang and Mylene Paat added nine and eight as they exited at 2-6 for 10th place.
