Tag: fresh

Farm Fresh names Japanese Shota Sato as new coach

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New Farm Fresh Foxies head coach Shota Sato.–FARM FRESH FOXIES PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Japanese Shota Sato has taken over the coaching reins of Farm Fresh ahead of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference starting July 16 at Philsports Arena.

The Foxies on Saturday announced that Sato replaced Jerry Yee, who took over their sister team, ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles.

“Meet our new head coach who will call the shots for the Foxies starting in the Reinforced Conference, all the way from Japan, Shota Sato,” the team wrote. “We look forward to see the team continuously learn from you, coach! Let’s do this!”

READ: PVL: Farm Fresh taps Yeny Murillo for Reinforced Conference

Sato became the third Japanese head coach in the PVL after Taka Minowa, who started with Nxled before transferring to Akari, and Petro Gazz mentor Koji Tsuzurabara.

Sato, an assistant coach for reigning PVL Invitational champion Kurashiki Ablaze, has started working with Farm Fresh in the All-Filipino Conference as part of Yee’s coaching staff, which includes Japanese consultant Hideo Suzuki and deputy Shimizu Mikihiro and Asaka Tamaru, who will serve as ZUS Coffee’s import.

Sato will be inheriting young guns Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, Caitlin Viray, Alyssa Bertolano, Louie Romero, and Rizza Cruz as well as Colombian import Yeny Murillo.

READ: PVL Draft: Farm Fresh Foxies still mulling their picks

The Foxies will pick fourth overall in the Rookie Draft on Monday at Novotel.

Farm Fresh opens its campaign against Chery Tiggo on July 16.

The Foxies are slated in Pool A, which includes All-Filipino champion Creamline, PLDT, Galeries Tower, and Nxled.



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Farm Fresh taps Yeny Murrilo for Reinforced Conference

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Yeny Murrilo is Farm Fresh Foxies’ import for the PVL Reinforced Conference.

MANILA, Philippines — Farm Fresh parades Colombian outside spiker Yeny Murrilo in the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference starting on July 16 at Philsports Arena.

The Foxies on Friday evening announced their reinforcement for their first-ever import-laden tournament since joining the league last year.

Murillo, who turned 25 on Friday, is already in Manila, training with Farm Fresh.

The 6-foot spiker, who played for Arizona Western College and Grand Canyon University, is bringing her experience from seeing action in overseas club leagues in Greece, France, Cyprus, and Czechia.

READ: PVL Draft: Farm Fresh still mulling its picks

Murillo will bolster the young Foxies Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, Caitlin Viray, Alyssa Bertolano, Louie Romero, and Rizza Cruz.

The Foxies will pick fourth overall in the Rookie Draft on Monday at Novotel.

Farm Fresh opens its campaign against Chery Tiggo on July 16.

The Foxies are slated in Pool A, which includes All-Filipino champion Creamline, PLDT, Galeries Tower, and Nxled.



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Farm Fresh still mulling its picks

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FILE– PVL Rookie Draft aspirants after the two-day Draft Combine. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — With ZUS Coffee already firm with its top pick, Farm Fresh is still pondering the best player who will fit into its team with the fourth overall pick of the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft. 

Kiara Cruz, Strong Group’s head of volleyball operations, admitted that the Foxies aren’t decided on their first-round pick among the talent of the 47 rookies, who showcased their skills in the two-day Draft Combine at GameVille Ball Park.

“To be honest, we’re in a tough spot but we’re very grateful fourth pick. Honestly, we’re also a bit coi confused right now, especially with the pool of talent that are here and we don’t know who to pick yet,” Cruz told reporters as Farm Fresh was drawn fourth in the lottery with just a 10 percent chance of getting the top pick.

READ: Teams begin plotting PVL Draft strategies

“I guess we’ll see on draft day itself and we have to talk about it with the upper management as well.

ZUS Coffee coach Jerry Yee already has prospects to draft including Thea Gagate.  He also has his eye on rookies who could complete their roster with only Dolly Verzosa and Mary Joy Onofre the remaining players from their debut conference joined by College of Saint Benilde products Cloanne Mondoñedo, Gayle Pascual, Michelle Gamit, and Jade Gentapa.

“It’s definitely a big event to be here because we still need to fill slots for our team but we see great potential from these players even if you know in the likes of Gagate, Leila, and La Salle girls, NCAA players and players from other countries that are very someone to look out for. Very promising for us,” said Cruz.

READ: Team owners’ reluctance to salary limits puzzles PVL chief

As they continue to figure out how to maximize their draft picks for Farm Fresh, Cruz believes that the Foxies will surpass their 3-8 record in the All-Filipino with the Japanese coaches taking over in the Reinforced Conference.

“I can say that it’s very smooth since the kids are receptive, we have very young pool who are receptive Japanese culture so I would say watch out for us this conference. They’re only going up from here,” said the former Farm Fresh libero-turned-executive.



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Jewelle Bermillo hopes for fresh start in her PVL return bid

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Libero Jewelle Bermillo is looking to return to the PVL. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Among the 47 rookie aspirants, libero Jewelle Bermillo was the lone player who experienced playing in the PVL when the league was still under semiprofessional status in 2019 with the defunct BaliPure Water Defenders.

Her last PVL action didn’t exactly play out the way she wanted as the former student-athlete from San Sebastian College went viral for the wrong reason when her import teammate Danijela Dzakovic hit her on the nape after a digging miscommunication.

That bizarre scene between teammates has marked Bermillo even until now as she expects to see it again on social media as it will mark its fifth anniversary on June 29.

LIST: Applicants for the first ever PVL Rookie Draft

“The impact is really huge. It’s shocking what happened because it’s the first time it happened,” said Bermillo, who forgave the import right away after she apologized and hugged her after the incident.

“It always comes up. Every month, someone tags me. Especially on June 29 because that’s when it happened, so it’s coming up soon, and someone will tag me again even though it happened five years ago.”

Five years since the incident, Bermillo is hoping to start fresh as she enters the PVL draft and reintroduces herself through her skills and better game in the professional scene.

READ: Danijela Dzakovic gets reprimand from PVL after hitting teammate

“What I brought there is, of course, to be more aggressive, to be more aware of who I’m with inside the court, and the number one thing is communication. Because that’s really what was lost. We had a lack of communication, which is why it happened before,” said the libero.

Reigniting the passion

FILE–Jewelle Bermillo during her time with BaliPure in the PVL Draft 2024

FILE–Jewelle Bermillo during her time with BaliPure in the PVL.

“I hope it doesn’t happen again. I’m really excited because this will be a big help to us, having this reinforcement so we can level up more or bring [the experience] to the national team, and improve our volleyball community even more.”

A lot has changed since Bermillo last played in the PVL. Her previous team is no longer part of the league while the league has grown into a 12-team field.

After playing for the Lady Stags and for Biñan in the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association, Bermillo believes joining the pros is still her calling.

“This is my calling.  I want to try to rediscover my passion from before. Maybe now is the time for me to play again.” said Bermillo. “Nowadays, everyone, even the rookies, are really skilled. I can’t say anything because even though they’re rookies, their skills are already at a professional level.”

“I want to enhance or develop my skills further so I can contribute more to the team, wherever I end up playing,” she added.

Seeking to return to the PVL as a pro this time, Bermillo brings her learnings from San Sebastian coach Roger Gorayeb, who also scouted players in the combine for Capital1. 



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“Coach just told me to showcase the skills I’ve learned from him, and of course, whether I get picked or not, not to be ashamed. I should just show who I really am and the skills I have,” Bermillo said. “

“The experience I had with Coach Roger during college, I’ll bring everything I learned from him to the pros. I hope to improve on what I learned from him so I can contribute more to whichever team I join.”

Josh Giddey embraces fresh start with Bulls

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Oklahoma City Thunder’s Josh Giddey plays during an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

CHICAGO — Josh Giddey is looking forward to a fresh start in Chicago.

The 6-foot-8 guard from Australia confirmed Tuesday he did not want to come off the bench for Oklahoma City and insisted he appreciated Thunder general manager Sam Presti’s honesty leading up to the trade to the Bulls last week for Alex Caruso.

“I’m 21 years old, it wasn’t something that I was overly eager to do,” Giddey said during a videoconference. “He completely understood. And just throughout the whole process, we were open and honest with each other. And I said to him, ’Look, coming off the bench at this point in my career, it’s not something I’m trying to do and take a reserve role. He got it. And we worked together through the whole process, and he got me to a great spot.”

READ: NBA: Josh Giddey didn’t want to come off the bench, prompting trade

Giddey is coming off a challenging season in which his numbers dropped and he lost his starting job in the playoffs. He goes from a team that went 57-25 to earn the top seed in the NBA Western Conference and reached the conference semifinals with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren leading the way to one that missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

Giddey said he hasn’t discussed his specific role with the Bulls, though it’s hard to envision him coming off the bench in Chicago if he didn’t want to do it in Oklahoma City.

Presti said in a statement last week that the Thunder saw him in a reserve role next season in order “to maximize his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.” He said Giddey had a tough time with that idea and asked to be traded.

“The one thing about him that I really respect is his transparency,” Giddey said. “And he’s very open and honest with players and especially with me throughout this whole process.”

Giddey was the No. 6 overall pick in 2021 and he made the All-Rookie second team. He is a member of Australia’s national team that will play at the Paris Olympics this summer. He is an exceptional passer and his size makes him a solid rebounder.

READ: NBA: Thunder trade Josh Giddey to Bulls for Alex Caruso

Giddey averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in his second season, but those numbers dropped to 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 2023-24.

Giddey was also often booed on the road after an anonymous social media user accused him of having an improper relationship with an underage girl, leading to investigations by police in Newport Beach, California, and the NBA.

Newport Beach police completed their investigation in January and said detectives were “unable to corroborate any criminal activity.” The NBA also later dropped its investigation.

“I completely understand the question and I know you’ve got to ask as part of your job, but I’m not going to comment on anything regarding that situation,” Giddey said.

The trade for Giddey was the first move in what could be a busy offseason for Chicago, which owns the No. 11 pick in the draft on Wednesday. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas vowed to make changes after the team he constructed finished 39-43.

Six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan is a free agent. Zach LaVine might be dealt after playing in just 25 games before having season-ending foot surgery, though the five-year, $215.16 million extension he signed following the 2021-22 season could make him tough to move.

It’s not quite clear how the guard rotation will play out with Giddey added to a mix that includes Coby White coming off a breakout season and Ayo Dosunmu in a key role. Lonzo Ball could also figure into it, though he’s been sidelined since January 2022 because of a left knee injury. He has said he expects to be ready for the season opener.

Giddey said he didn’t discuss with the front office if the Bulls were retooling or undergoing a major overhaul.



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“In terms of what direction the franchise is going, I haven’t asked any questions,” he said. “I’ve just kind of bought into whatever happens here, happens. And, I’ll probably play my part in helping our team be as good as we can be right from the jump.”