Every decision in Farm Fresh’s system comes with numbers to back it up — and on Friday, those numbers told a winning story.
Behind the Foxies’ 25-18, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24 victory over Choco Mucho was the tireless work of head coach Alessandro Lodi and his staff — a group that has made preparation and data analysis the foundation of their success.
It was that same staff who discovered a key adjustment that reshaped the Foxies’ rotation: moving the hard-hitting Alyssa Bertolano to libero.
Backed by data showing she was the team’s most consistent receiver, the decision was neither a gamble nor a hunch. It was the result of long hours of film review and player monitoring by Lodi’s staff.
“Well, first of all, it’s not about the defense. The priority has always been the reception — that’s the most important part of the game, together with serving,” Lodi explained.
“So the idea was always to have the best possible receiving team we could have… It wasn’t even a choice — the data told us.”
The move proved crucial in their bounce-back win. Bertolano anchored the Foxies’ floor defense with 10 excellent receptions against the Flying Titans, helping Farm Fresh close out Pool A with a 4-1 record and secure a spot in Pool D.
(C) PVL Images
Lodi, however, was quick to deflect the praise, instead highlighting the dedication of his coaching staff for keeping Farm Fresh a step ahead.
“By the way, shoutout to my staff,” Lodi said. “They don’t have watches anymore, they don’t know what time it is anymore. They are in a symbiotic relationship with their laptops… We might lose, but no one can out-prepare us.
“They don’t have girlfriends anymore, they work day and night on video, on stats, on collecting data, on preparing videos for the players, ‘cause we prepare.”
Bertolano, for her part, echoed her coach’s gratitude — this time toward the people who guided her through the position switch.
The former UP standout also credited veteran teammate Jheck Dionela for helping her adjust quickly and embrace the demands of her new role.
“Ako po, sobrang naging malaking opportunity po sa’kin na naging libero ako ngayon. Kasi ‘yun nga, nagpapasalamat ako kay coach na binigyan niya ako ng tiwala sa loob ng court and grateful din ako sa team kasi nagtiyaga sila sa akin,” Bertolano said.
“Credit kay ate Jheck kasi tinuruan niya po ako sa basics ng pagiging libero.”
As Lodi put it, their success is built not on instinct, but on evidence — and on a staff that refuses to be outworked.
“We might lose, but no one can out-prepare us. Everything we do is based on information, on real data, not on opinions,” said the Italian tactician.
“We might lose, but we will try really our best with all the tools that we have available. So the chance of having her [as libero] was very easy, it’s not even a choice, the data told us. It was easy to do that.”
