FARM Fresh turned back Choco Mucho, 25-18, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24, to cap a near-perfect run in the first group stage of the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Friday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Two points away from being dragged into a tiebreak, Farm Fresh got a boost from ex-Belgian international Helene Rousseaux who came to life with three points in a 5-1 match-winning finishing kick in the fourth set.
The win assured the Foxies of a top two finish in Pool A and into a favorable position come the second group stage where they will be joined by Pool B’s bottom three teams.
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Rousseaux posted 27 points on 25 points and two blocks as the Foxies ended the first half of pool play at 4-1 (win-loss) while dealing the Flying Titans their second loss in four games.
Trisha Tubu hammered key shots in the last two sets just when Choco Mucho was clawing its way back with 17 points built on 14 attacks, two blocks and one ace.
Ces Molina nearly bagged her first triple-double in orange with 11 points, 12 receptions and eight digs.
"It's very important to have different abilities as a team to be able to win consistently and to try to be at the top of the league and of the conference. I’m sure you have to play with quality and at times be able to dominate the games like we did in the first two sets, but that is not normal," said Farm Fresh head coach Alessandro Lodi.
The hard-hitting Rousseaux and Tubu couldn’t be tamed in the first two sets, more so in the second set where they built a 12-point cushion over the misfiring Flying Titans.
Just as the Foxies went for the jugular in Set 3, Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin gambled on fielding an all-Filipino lineup by sidelining American winger Marlee Smith.
That risk paid off as Kat Tolentino took control of the Flying Titans offense in a quick 10-4 tear from a 10-all deadlock to keep the team alive for at least another set. They were aided by 11 unforced errors on Farm Fresh's end.
The Smith-less Choco Mucho came close to forcing five before a late meltdown denied it the chance to reverse-sweep Farm Fresh.
Titans' tough luck
Even with a three-headed scoring beast in Tolentino (12 points), Royse Tubino (11 points) and Maddie Madayag (10 points), Choco Mucho's luck just ran out in the fourth set when it seemed poised to take the match to sudden death.
Captain Des Cheng also put up a steady two-way performance with eight points, five digs and four receptions.
Smith, who sat out half the game as part a strategic switchup that had Cheng take her outside hitter spot, was held to the lowest single-game scoring output by an import this conference with just four points.
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