FARM Fresh, a team that had never finished higher than sixth in two years and eight regular conferences, will enter the PVL Reinforced playoffs as the No. 1 team for the first time in franchise history.
The Foxies are set to barge into the knockout quarterfinals with their best preliminary-round finish yet at 7-1.
Entering the final day of the group stage in a three-way battle for the top spot, Farm Fresh needed to sweep Chery Tiggo EV and hope PLDT dropped at least one set to Petro Gazz — a best-case scenario that unfolded perfectly.
READ: Farm Fresh blanks Chery Tiggo to bolster bid for top seed
A 25-17, 25-23, 29-27 victory over the Crossovers, combined with the High Speed hitters' 21-25 opening-set stumble to the Angels, cleared the Foxies’ path to the top.
Lodi lauds Farm Fresh
And head coach Alessandro Lodi couldn’t be prouder to see their fairytale run reach another milestone.
“Once again, we did it. Once again, we were close to perfect,” he said.
“Once again, my team, I can only be proud of the resilience they have, the spirit they have, and the ability to come back or start over, not be caught in disappointment, and make the final push to win games.”
Meanwhile, PLDT can still slip to No. 3 if they ultimately lose the match to Petro Gazz - or can hold on to No. 2 over ZUS Coffee with either a four-set win or a superior set ratio should the match go to five.
As for the No. 8 seed, it comes down to either the Angels or Akari that will face Farm Fresh in the knockout playoffs starting Monday, Nov. 20, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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