PVL: Vintage Daquis overcomes cramps, leads Farm Fresh to victory

Rachel Anne Daquis overcame cramps and played a vintage performance, scoring 19 points, including the final one of the game to lead Farm Fresh to 18-25, 21-25, 26-24, 25-19, 15-12, victory against Capital1 in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday, February 18, at the Philsports Arena.

Daquis, who came out of retirement last year to bolster the Foxies tournament campaign, provided the spark that the Foxies needed to turn the two-set deficit to a sweep of the next three.

“I just wanted to help the team and do my job,” said Daquis in Filipino, reflecting on her performance. “I struggled in the first two sets, but we adjusted as a team, and that’s how we were able to recover.”

The Foxies also missed the services of Trisha Tubu due to a back injury, making way for Daquis to take over and showed leadership by steering the team to the comeback victory.

Besides scoring points, RAD also showcased her all-round game by tallying 13 excellent digs to complement libero Janel Delerio’s 21-digs.

“This is the kind of battle I love – high-stakes, down-to-the-wire matches,” said Daquis. “I’m happy with the result, and we’ll continue to work hard as we move forward.”

Four other Foxies also scored in double-figures, Caitlyn Viray had 14, Rizza Cruz added 13, Pierre Abella and Aly Bertolano put up 10 apiece.

Meanwhile, the Solar Spikers also had a strong offensive showing with five players finishing in double-digits: Heather Guino-o (16), Leila Cruz (15), Sydney Niegos (14), Des Clemente-De Guzman (11), and Jorelle Singh (11).

With the win, Farm Fresh now have a 5-6 win-loss record, moved to the No. 6, ahead of Akari (5-6), Chery Tigon (5-5) and ZUS Coffee (4-6). The final rankings will be determined after the last preliminary games to be played on Saturday in Iloilo.