Reporting note: this article draws on tiebreakertimes.com.ph; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Farm Fresh spotted Choco Mucho two sets and still walked out of the SM Mall of Asia Arena with the win. The Foxies pulled off a 20-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13 reverse sweep on Thursday night, knocking off the previously unbeaten Flying Titans in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab series. And yes, the Tubu Paat partnership had a whole lot to do with it.
Tubu Paat partnership powers the Farm Fresh comeback
Choco Mucho looked every bit the unbeaten team early, taking the opener 25-20 and grinding out a 28-26 second set. Then the Foxies flipped the script, stealing both of the next two frames by identical 25-23 scorelines to force a decider.
Two hours and 36 minutes of volleyball, and the last few points were the ones that mattered. Trisha Tubu took over at the start of the fifth, firing six of the Foxies' first seven points. Then she and Mylene Paat-Rezanova closed the door on the Flying Titans.
Paat finished with a team-high 15 points on 11 attacks and four blocks, a solid night for a veteran still working her way back into form. Tubu, the reigning PVL Season MVP, added 14 markers as Farm Fresh moved to 2-1.
Here's the weird part: they play the same position. Both are opposites. The league's all-to-play format has kept both of them on the floor, taking turns carrying the Foxies' offense instead of splitting minutes into oblivion. Who saw that working this well?
Trisha Tubu credits her mentor Mylene Paat-Rezanova
Tubu didn't hesitate when asked where the chemistry comes from. The 25-year-old Adamson product pointed straight at Paat, the teammate she calls her mentor.
"I always say in interviews, I'm here now because of Ate My. She's really my mentor on the team. Actually, we talk more than I talk to Coach Koji Tsuzurabara during timeouts."
She also shouted out Ara Galang, saying the two veterans help her reset her mindset and how she moves on the floor. Tubu said she's grateful for every training session where they push her, and that the bond between her and Paat holds up even with both of them listed at the same spot.
"They help me reset my mindset, how I should move. I'm so thankful to Ate My and Ate Ara for every training where they push me. The relationship between the two of us is just so good even though we play the same position."
Paat's cramps and the trust that saved the fifth set
Paat's role isn't complicated in her own head. Support whoever's in. That got tested in the decider, when cramps started creeping in and Tubu had to carry the load.
"My mindset is that we support each other. Whoever Coach puts in, we need to support each other. And when one of us is hurting, the other backs up, because I was already cramping earlier. I'm so thankful that Tubs really stepped up."
Watching the comeback unfold got to her. Paat said she was emotional afterward, grateful that the trust and unity the Foxies keep talking about actually showed up when the scoreboard looked ugly.
"I was so emotional, to the point that I'm so thankful to my teammates because the trust and unity of the team showed. Everyone held on and gave heart, and the trust isn't just in ourselves but in our teammates and coaches."
What's next for Farm Fresh after the reverse sweep
Farm Fresh sits at 2-1, and the Foxies now have two opposites who can both score and, more importantly, cover for each other. Paat is still rounding into form. Tubu is already rolling. That's a rough combination for the rest of the field.
Neither player is treating the partnership as a finished product. Both said they want to keep building the chemistry as the conference goes on, which gives Farm Fresh another option when sets get tight. No fixture details yet, but the Foxies look like a team nobody wants to take to a fifth set.
Original report: tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
