STA. ROSA — Farm Fresh spiced up the home stretch of the preliminaries with a pivotal 25-16, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 win over an undermanned Creamline side in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday at the City of Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex.
Royse Tubino turned back-to-back attack errors into back-to-back game-winning hits to deny Creamline’s bid for a five-set comeback.
The race for the last two qualifying round spots suddenly became wide open as the Cool Smashers were dealt a second straight defeat, dropping to 5–3.
READ: Meneses in sick bay as he misses Creamline's game vs. Farm Fresh
Back-to-back wins lifted the Foxies to 4–4, tying them with Nxled and putting them just one game behind both Akari and Creamline entering the final two prelims play dates.
Farm Fresh still turned in a convincing performance, taking full advantage of a shorthanded Creamline side that missed head coach Sherwin Meneses due to illness, along with star duo Jema Galanza and Bernadeth Pons.
The Cool Smashers have now lost four of their last five PVL games in Laguna since 2022.
Trisha Tubu led the charge with 22 points built on 16 attacks, five blocks, and an ace, while Royse Tubino backed her up with 18 points on top of 13 receptions and eight digs.
“Nagsisimula po ‘yun sa sarili namin kasi laging sinasabi ni coach na unang-una, hindi niyo kalaban ‘yung nasa kabilang court. Kalaban niyo palagi ‘yung sarili niyo,” said Tubu.
“Once na manalo kayo sa sarili niyo, mananalo kayo sa kalaban niyo.”
Riri Meneses made her presence felt at the net with 10 markers, highlighted by a game-high six blocks, as Ces Molina chipped in eight.
Alohi Robins-Hardy orchestrated the offense with 27 excellent sets and three points.
Holding on firm
Farm Fresh wasted no time asserting control, unloading a 19-9 blast that left the depleted Cool Smashers reeling right from the opening set.
Royse Tubino and Ara Galang anchored the surge, capping it off with a decisive attack and an ace, respectively, to seal a swift first-set win.
Creamline showed signs of life in the second, racing to an early three-point cushion. But Farm Fresh quickly flipped the script, turning an 8-5 edge into an 11-all deadlock before pulling away for good.
A telling 6-0 run broke the set wide open, 17-11, eventually translating into a commanding two-sets-to-none lead after an Alyssa Valdez attack error.
The Cool Smashers refused to fold in the third, engaging in a tight exchange before second-stringer Dij Rodriguez delivered in crunch time.
The SEA Games beach volleyball gold medalist scored off a well-executed combination play to push Creamline to set point, before Valdez finished it off to extend the match to a fourth set.
After a series of early deadlocks in the fourth, Molina and Meneses keyed a pivotal push that turned a 15-all stalemate into a 20-16 Farm Fresh advantage.
Creamline mounted a late response behind Pangs Panaga and Tots Carlos, clawing back to level at 20-all, but Tubino atoned for earlier miscues with timely conversions down the stretch to help seal the win in four sets.
Carlos finished with 18 points and 13 receptions, while Alyssa Valdez tallied 14 points and 11 digs, but their efforts weren’t enough to lift Creamline.
Panaga added 10 points, while Dij Rodriguez had eight markers and seven digs in a losing stand. Jia de Guzman also dished out 27 excellent sets to go with four points in the defeat.
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