FARM Fresh walked off the court knowing it let one slip.
The Foxies were within striking distance of a breakthrough semifinals berth, only to fall in four sets to PLDT in the qualifying round and see their first shot at history go begging.
READ: PLDT moves up to semis after downing Farm Fresh
For a team chasing its first-ever PVL semifinals appearance in its three-year existence, the sting hit hard.
“Nandu’n pa rin ‘yung panghihinayang. Lagi namang ganun na one step closer to the semifinals, and alam naman natin na it's never gonna be easy na makapasok nang ganun-ganun lang,” Farm Fresh winger Ces Molina, who had 14 points and 11 digs in the loss, told SPIN.ph.
“A lot of teams are improving din, and iba ang prelims kaysa sa [laban] going to the semifinals. Lahat gustong makapasok du’n at gustong makatuntong. Naging challenging ‘yung araw na ‘to para sa’min.”
And yet, beneath the regret lies a bigger picture that the upstarts refuse to ignore.
From being a cellar-dweller in its early conferences, the young franchise has steadily climbed its way into contention, now going toe-to-toe with the league’s heavyweights and proving it belongs.
“Very proud lang ako sa team kasi bago lang ‘yung team, bago sistema, bago si coach Koji [Tsuzurabara], pero ito, medyo nakikipagsabayan na kami sa mga malalakas na teams,” Molina said.
“Kailangan lang naming ma-maintain and talagang tuloy-tuloy ’yung improvement para next time, makapasok naman kami.”
That ‘next time’ will come sooner than expected, as the Foxies get one last crack at the semis through the play-ins, where it will face either Nxled or Galeries Tower in a do-or-die duel for the final seat.
History awaits
No matter who stands on the other side of the net, the motivation remains the same: Farm Fresh’s pursuit of history.
“Ibibigay pa rin namin ‘yung best namin. Team effort talaga ‘yung kailangan. Du’n masasubukan ‘yung team eh, kapag ganyan ‘yung situation,” Molina said.
“I hope and I pray talaga na next game namin, mabigay namin ‘yung full, ‘yung 10-percent best ng bawat isa para magkaroon kami ng history as Farm Fresh.”
That one last chance is all the Foxies need to try and finally break through.
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