FARM Fresh snatched a qualifying round berth at the last possible moment, toppling Akari with a 25-19, 25-14, 23-25, 25-17 win in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
Once staring at the play-ins at 2-4, the Foxies came alive when it mattered most, ripping off three straight wins to barge into the top four with a chance of landing an outright semifinal seat on Thursday.
The statement win also snapped Akari’s five-game surge and sent the Chargers to the second phase of the play-ins.
Akari wound up tied with sister team Nxled at 5-4 and 15 match points apiece, but fell out from the top four on inferior set ratio.
"Nandito na kami sa point na talagang pinaglalaban na namin 'yung para sa sarili na namin. Gusto naming patunayan sa mga sarili namin na kaya naming pumasok ngayon sa taas," said Farm Fresh's Riri Meneses, who turned in eight points on five attacks and three blocks.
Royse Tubino exploded for 21 points, with Trisha Tubu adding 19 and Ces Molina flirting with a triple-double on 18 points, 11 digs, and nine receptions.
Alohi Robins-Hardy orchestrated the offense with 19 excellent sets, while Bia General anchored the floor with 18 receptions and 12 digs.
Finest, fiercest finish
Akari came out firing and seized early control, but the momentum quickly flipped once the set tightened at 10-all.
From there, it was all Farm Fresh as Tubino took charge with back-to-back attacks, before Tubu landed the clincher to give the Foxies the opening set.
Farm Fresh only got hotter in the second, turning it into a runaway as it blew the set wide open and stretched the gap to 24-14, putting Akari on the ropes.
A Meneses block followed by a Rizza Cruz ace slammed the door, doubling their control of the match and putting Farm Fresh on the brink of a sweep.
But the Chargers refused to go quietly.
Locked in a tight third-set battle, Ivy Lacsina and Trisha Tubu rose to the occasion, conniving for back-to-back clutch blocks to steal the frame and keep Akari alive.
Just like in the second set, Farm Fresh closed it out with authority, pulling away for good by stretching the lead to 19-10 before an Akari attack error put the finishing touch on their biggest win of the conference.
Eli Soyud’s 17 points and Ivy Lacsina’s 15-point, 12-reception double-double went to waste for the Chargers, as did Justine Jazareno’s monster outing of 26 digs and 24 receptions.
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