Trisha Tubu and Farm Fresh Foxies in the PVL All-Filipino Conference game against ZUS Coffee. –PVL PHOTO
Farm Fresh is under its third head coach in Benson Bocboc in its sixth conference in the PVL.
He could end up staying for good.
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“Coach Boc’s system is a big help because from our first game until now, we can see the progress of the team,” Trisha Tubu, who has been with the Foxies since they joined the league, told the Inquirer on Thursday.
“Every training, every after game, coach Boc really reads the stats after the game,” Tubu added. “So the next day we will all study [the stats] to know where we [need to] send the ball most of the time and try to cover it in training.
“His stats-based approach is a big help because, like they say, numbers don’t lie,” Tubu said.
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After absorbing back-to-back losses to start the season, Farm Fresh notched a second consecutive win following a 26-24, 13-25, 25-21, 25-19 triumph against sister team ZUS Coffee on Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tubu played a huge role, falling just four points shy of her career-best output after punching in 28 points, all but one from attacks, on a solid 48.21-percent efficiency.
“Coach Boc is really stats-driven so in the numbers, you can now really see how you’re doing and what is your percentage [converting points] because every training he is focused on that,” Tubu said. “When I played before, I thought I was doing fine but when I look at my percentage, I have a lot of attempts with low conversion.”
Alyssa Bertolano, meanwhile, added 12 points, 12 excellent digs and 12 excellent receptions.
New goal
Before Bocboc’s arrival, Farm Fresh qualified to the playoffs just once—in the last Reinforced Conference.
With the former La Salle assistant around, the team has a new goal.
“What I see now is that [the Foxies] need to win [again and again] and I think they can, and that’s why I am here,” Bocboc told the Inquirer in a separate interview.
The Foxies have made strides despite failing to inject setter Alohi Robins-Hardy into the roster and with rookie Lorene Toring and newly signed veteran hitter Rachel Anne Daquis still to suit up.
“If you can see, we have limited players who aren’t too tall. We have Trisha, but we only have three middle blockers and one libero, so we try to manage everything,” he said.
“It’s hard to raise their confidence because they are exerting three times the effort compared to other teams who are taller and stronger.”
As one of the mainstays that saw the ups and downs of the team, Tubu doesn’t feel burdened leading the Foxies.
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“It’s not hard for me because my job is to just hit the ball and [my teammates] will cover my back,” the hitter out of Adamson said. “Our confidence is rising even if we have losses … We have been working on the reasons for our losses, so it’s a different Farm Fresh now.”