Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

4 p.m. — Nxled vs Galeries Tower

6:30 p.m. — Akari vs Choco Mucho

Survivors of the Play-in tournament’s first phase test their luck once again in another no-tomorrow match as the race for the last two semifinals seats of the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference intensifies.

With sister teams Cignal and PLDT already through to the round robin Final Four after their wins in the qualifying round, the remaining six teams in contention for tickets to the next stage scramble in the dangerous stepladder path.

No. 9 seed Galeries Tower is out to continue writing its fairytale run in a tough duel with Nxled today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Highrisers charge at 4 p.m. against the No. 5-ranked Chameleons, composed of the core of last year’s champion Petro Gazz, which took a leave of absence in the season-ending tournament, hoping to set a do-or-die encounter against Farm Fresh for a semis berth on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, crowd-darling Choco Mucho looks to take down sixth-seeded Akari while riding the momentum of its first phase escape in the main game at 6:30 p.m.

Despite its struggles in the preliminary round, Galeries Tower snatched the victory that mattered more when it booted out the Bella Belen-led Capital1 in a shocking sweep, 25-16, 25-20, 30-28, last Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.

Playing the spoilers’ role isn’t new for the Highrisers, in fact, in last year’s edition, they upset Cignal to advance to the quarterfinals.

Galeries Tower is playing with a chip on its shoulder, hoping to go deeper after losing to the Chargers in two games — both five-setters — in the Last Eight in the previous season.

“I’m very proud of the team and I’m motivated. We we’re able to reach the quarterfinals but came up short of moving into the next round,” said setter Julia Coronel, one of only a handful of players retained after the Highrisers made a major revamp during the offseason.

“So, this time around, we’re hopeful we can prepare well for the next game. We’re praying the Lord will grant us victory in the next game.”

The Aying Esteban-mentored Galeries Tower will also rely on rookie Jean Asis, Gayle Pascual, Roselle Baliton and veteran Aiza Maizo-Pontillas to deliver the goods.

Nxled, on the other hand, is seeking payback against the Highrisers, who beat the squad in four sets in their prelims meeting last 19 February.

Coming off a nine-day rest after beating PLDT in four sets for back-to-back wins to close the prelims, the Chameleons are also motivated to continue their campaign.

Nxled will bank on the trio of Brooke Van Sickle, Myla Pablo and MJ Phillips.

The Flying Titans, meanwhile, outlasted upset-conscious ZUS Coffee, 21-25, 25-22, 13-25, 25-11, 15-11, to live to fight another day.

Sisi Rondina’s 27 points and Maddie Madayag’s 19 points rescued Choco Mucho for a chance to make a repeat against its preliminary round victim for a possible Final Four seat collision with sister club Creamline.

“I’ve been telling the team that the journey will not get easy, it’s gonna get harder. The competition is getting tougher. And of course, Akari won’t just allow us to win,” Madayag said.

“We have to focus on each other, the team and put on an effort to help lift the team.”

The game for the Chargers, bannered by Ivy Lacsina, Fifi Sharma, Eli Soyud and Ced Domingo, will be a test of character after coming off a loss to Farm Fresh that snapped their five-game winning streak.