PVL: Rachel Daquis hopes to lead young Foxies after ‘meaningful’ return

Rachel Daquis, left, and the Farm Fresh Foxies celebrate a point during a game against Galeries Tower in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Rachel Anne Daquis feels she has nothing left to prove after making her PVL comeback with Farm Fresh in the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference on Thursday.

Daquis returned to PVL action after 551 days, debuting for Farm Fresh with a point in the Foxies’ 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 25-17 win over Galeries Tower behind Trisha Tubu’s career-high 33 points.

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“Sobrang meaningful nitong comeback, personally. Wala na ako hinahabol sa career ko, para na ito sa mga bata. ‘Yun ‘yung magiging biggest contribution ko sa kanila is kung paano ako mag-lead sa loob ng court, paano sila maging intact na puwede nila sundan. Gumagawa lang tayo ng blueprint para sa kanila,” said the 37-year-old Daquis, a former national team player who won a couple of club championships and had her No. 3 jersey retired by Far Eastern University.

READ: PVL: Trisha Tubu fires 33, Farm Fresh downs Galeries

Tubu on RAD’s leadership
Daquis on her debut as a Foxy. #PVL2025 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/cKtdZQBYfN

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) January 30, 2025

“Kita mo naman 33 points [si Tubu] andiyan na lahat, kumpleto na ‘yung bala. So, paano nalang namin lalaruin ‘yung laro namin at kung ano ‘yung matutulong ko na maging intact sila, parang i-glue sila, so ‘yun ‘yung nakikita kong pinaka-mahalaga,” she added.

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Daquis, who last played for Cignal last July 2023 in the Invitational Conference battle for third, took her time before playing for the Foxies after signing with the team in October last year.

She studied and focused on her bakery in Spain Forn de Manila during her hiatus.

The grizzled veteran, who has been playing for 20 years, said she’s still slowly working her way back to her top form.

READ: PVL: Rachel Daquis still not 100 percent, misses Farm Fresh opener

Rachel Daquis during her Farm Fresh debut.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

“Siguro getting there. Mas maniniwala ako sa perfect timing kasi mahaba-haba pa ‘yung laro so naniniwala ako doon, naniniwala ako sa sistema ni coach Boc and ‘yung timing kung kelan papasok at magpapalit ng tao. Tiwala lang ako and ready naman ako anytime,” she said.

Now that she’s back, expect a wiser Daquis to lead the young Foxies, who improved to 4-4 with three games left in the eliminations.

“Before I loved playing with power, ngayon I love playing smarter,” Daquis said. “Sa ensayo palang ginugulangan ko na ‘yung mga teamamtes ko. Totoo ‘yun, galit na galit sila. Mindset ko na hindi mo always need ng power, ngayon kailangan mo maging mas matalino kasi sa dami na ng batang malalakas ngayon, lamang pa rin ang matalinong maglaro so ‘yun ‘yun talagang ina-eye ko na mapunan doon.”