Farm fresh on high going to quarters

MANILA, Philippines —  The best is yet to come for the Farm Fresh Foxies.

The fledgling franchise moved on the cusp of posting its best finish in the league following a 25-17, 25-23, 29-27 victory over Chery Tiggo yesterday in the PVL Reinforced Conference at the MOA Arena.

The win, its seventh in eight outings, ensured Farm Fresh of at least No. 2 seeding in the knockout quarterfinals with a shot at a breakthrough semis stint.

Helene Rousseaux dropped a 20-point performance she laced with 17 kills while Ces Molina and Trisha Tubu fired 14 and 13 hits, respectively, to sustain the club’s magical run.

Also stepping up was Alohi Robins-Hardy, who facilitated the team’s seamless attack with 24 excellent sets while also drilling in seven points, mostly off sneaky drop shots.

“We needed this tough games for us to work hard and prepare for a tougher match ahead,” said Farm Fresh coach Alessandro Lodi.

Farm Fresh’s final seeding would depend on how PLDT (6-1) would fare against Petro Gazz (4-3) in the closing game of the elims.

Regardless, Farm Fresh would face one among Petro Gazz, Capital1 (4-4) or Akari (4-4).

The Crossovers fell to 2-6.

The Solar Spikers earlier pulled off a come-from-behind 12-25, 29-27, 25-19, 25-18 win over Galeries Tower.

The Highrisers ended their campaign at 0-8.

Focused squarely on claiming the No. 1 seed, Farm Fresh brushed aside its final obstacle with the poise of a true contender.

The Foxies responded to their mentor’s familiar results-driven philosophy, shaking off the Crossovers’ early resistance before wresting control in the crucial stretch to complete the hard-earned win.

The one-hour, 29-minute victory was anything but smooth. The Foxies squandered an eight-point cushion in Set 3 and had to survive three set points before escaping on import Eli Rosseaux’s late-set heroics.