Farm Fresh fended off a fiery, Yuni Batista-powered rally from Chery Tiggo to secure its fourth consecutive win, 25-17, 25-23, 29-27, and clinch a top-two seeding in the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference quarterfinals on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Foxies finished the eliminations with a 7-1 record, tying the idle ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles atop the standings.
Farm Fresh, however, holds the tiebreaker advantage thanks to superior match points.
PLDT’s game against Petro Gazz later in the day will determine the top spot: a PLDT victory secures the No. 1 seed for them, while a loss, a four-set win, or a five-set triumph would hand Farm Fresh the top seed.
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“I told my team before the game that I hoped it would be a tough match because we need those challenges. We need to work hard and keep preparing for next week, which will be decisive,” said Foxies head coach Alessandro Lodi.
Farm Fresh held a comfortable 18-10 lead in the third set, but Chery Tiggo found renewed energy as Ara Galang fired three consecutive attacks.
Jyne Soreño and Batista followed, sparking an 11-3 run that tied the set at 21.
Galang and Batista combined to give Chery Tiggo four set points, but Eli Rousseaux stepped up for Farm Fresh, tying it at 27 with a crosscourt hit.
After Batista’s attack attempt went wide, Rousseaux delivered the match-winning hit, sealing the victory in one hour and 29 minutes.
“I think we played well for most stretches of the first two games. We still have some things to clean up, but we were able to manage the game pretty well,” added Lodi.
Belgian outside spiker Rousseaux led the Foxies with 20 points and nine digs, while Ces Molina contributed 14 points and 17 digs.
Trisha Tubu added 13 points, and Alohi Robins-Hardy dished out 24 excellent sets while scoring seven points herself.
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For Chery Tiggo, Batista finished with 28 points — 26 spikes and two blocks — as the Crossovers concluded their campaign in 10th place with a 2-6 record.
Galang and Mylene Paat added nine and eight points, respectively, while Karen Verdeflor impressed with 23 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions.
