ANTIPOLO – Jolina Dela Cruz injected life into Farm Fresh in her first start of the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference, helping the Foxies secure a breakthrough victory over Galeries Tower and snap a two-game skid.
Dela Cruz stepped up in Ara Galang’s absence, providing the spark and energy the team had been missing during their back-to-back losses. She led Farm Fresh to a commanding 25-14, 25-15, 25-12 sweep of the Highrisers at the Ynares Center here.
The former De La Salle University standout finished with nine points and four excellent receptions, giving an extra scoring punch alongside team leaders Trisha Tubu and Ces Molina.
“For me kasi, ang focus ko lang ay kung ano yung mako-contribute ko sa team talaga,” said Dela Cruz after the win.
“At kung ano yung matutulong ko kahit sa energy ng team. ‘Yun talaga yung ano ko, kasi mano-notice din talaga na sa first two games namin… Siguro siyempre, new team, yung chemistry rin talaga. Talo kami sa first two games.”
(C) PVL Images
After sitting out the Foxies’ five-set opener against Nxled, Dela Cruz came off the bench in their four-set loss to Cignal last Tuesday. She sparked the offense in the third set, where she scored all three of her points.
But Farm Fresh showed the squad’s good form — closing last season’s Reinforced Conference with the best elimination-round record — by dominating the Highrisers from start to finish.
Dela Cruz said that for a team adjusting to a new head coach and new players in the offseason, experiencing that early slump was necessary to discover their identity and build chemistry.
“I think kailangan talaga naming mapagdaanan yun para mas tumibay kami. ‘Di naman talaga in an instant makakabuo kami ng chemistry,” the one-time UAAP champion added.
“Super happy ako na lahat sa team nag-contribute, kahit sino ipasok ni coach.”
