Mylene Paat-Rezanova and Trisha Tubu both play opposite for the Farm Fresh Foxies, but they don’t treat it as a competition. With the All-Filipino Conference’s all-to-play format giving both of them minutes, the two Adamson products have been taking turns carrying the Foxies’ offense.
That teamwork paid off on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, where Farm Fresh came back from two sets down to beat the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, 20-25, 26-28, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13.
Tubu, the reigning PVL Season MVP, took over early in the fifth set, scoring 6 of the Foxies’ first 7 points. She and Paat-Rezanova then closed out the match together. Paat-Rezanova led the team with 15 points on 11 attacks and 4 blocks, while Tubu finished with 14.
The 25-year-old Tubu said Paat-Rezanova is her mentor on the team. She added that the veteran talks to her during timeouts even more than their coach does.
“So, ‘yun nga po, lagi ko pong sinasabi sa interview, eto po ako ngayon dahil kay Ate My (Paat). Siya po talaga ‘yung mentor ko sa team. Actually, siya po ‘yung mas maraming time na magkausap kami kaysa sa timeout kesa sa kausap ko si Coach (Koji Tsuzurabara),” said Tubu.
“Sila po ni Ate Ara (Galang) ‘yung tumutulong sa akin i-reset ‘yung mindset kung paano ako gagalaw. Sobrang thankful po ako kay Ate My at kay Ate Ara sa bawat training na pinupush nila ako, and, ‘yun po, sobrang ganda lang po ng samahan naming dalawa kahit parehas kami ng position.”
For Paat-Rezanova, It’s About Support
For the 32-year-old Paat-Rezanova, it’s about having each other’s backs no matter who is on the court. That mattered in the fifth set, when she started cramping and Tubu stepped up to finish the job.
“I think, sa akin, ‘yung mindset ko ay suportahan namin ang bawat isa. So, kung sinong ipasok sa amin, kung sino ipasok ni Coach, kailangan support namin ‘yung bawat isa. And ‘pag may masakit ang katawan, naka-backup ‘yung isa, kasi nagka-cramps na ang Ate kanina. I’m so thankful na nag-step up talaga si Tubs,” said Paat-Rezanova.
The comeback against one of the league’s hottest teams also left her emotional. She said the win showed how much the Foxies trust one another.
“Sobrang emotional ko na to the point na sobrang thankful ko sa teammates ko kasi lumabas ‘yung trust and unity ng team. Kapit at puso ng bawat isa, and tiwala hindi lang sa sarili namin, sa teammates, and coaches namin,” she said.
Farm Fresh will next face the Akari Chargers on Tuesday, October 27, at 1:00 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
