WHEN the match reaches five sets, Royse Tubino knows there is more to winning than simply hitting harder.
More often than not, it also takes'gulangan.'
At 33, Tubino leaned on veteran savvy as much as power in leading Farm Fresh past sister team ZUS Coffee in a five-setter on Thursday in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab series at the Philsports Arena.
READ: Farm Fresh stays on five-set roller-coaster after victory vs ZUS
Tubino finished with a team-high 20 points, but it was her approach to the decider that spoke to the kind of experience the Foxies needed to finish another marathon.
“Gulang na lang sa paglalaro kasi umabot na sa five sets, so hindi na pwede 'yung super spike ka pa rin,” she said.
“Kailangan mo na gamitin 'yung kamay ng mga blockers. Diskarte na lang talaga.”
For a Farm Fresh team that has made a habit of going the distance, Tubino's words carry particular weight.
The Foxies have played in four five-set matches through the early stretch of the conference, as many as the rest of the league combined - coming out of those contests with an even record.
And according to Tubino, the fifth set changes the equation altogether.
“Sa fifth set kasi, alam mo do'n na 'yung puso na lang gagamitin mo. Do'n na 'yung all out na eh kasi hindi na aabot ng 25 [points], 15 lang,” she said.
Gains from growing pains
Farm Fresh assistant coach Benson Bocboc sees the string of five-setters as growing pains his wards will most definitely benefit from.
“Kailangan nilang pagdaanan 'yun. Kailangan nilang ma-experience para sa susunod na mangyari ulit 'yun sa kanila, alam na nila kung paano nila bibigyan ng solusyon.”
Every trip to a five-setter has become another lesson for the Foxies to learn from.
It's good then that with Tubino around, they have one player who knows that oftentimes, surviving the longest matches is less about hitting the hardest and more about knowing when to outsmart the other side.
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