Nxled looks forward to All-Filipino wars

Nxled is motivated to level up its game heading into next month’s 2026-2027 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference.

A hungrier Chameleons side will charge back into battle after having experienced what it was like to compete in the finals for the first time since joining the league three years ago.

Although Nxled fell short of a breakthrough title in the season-opening Invitational Conference against a crack Thai club Est Cola, the team has built confidence and earned valuable championship experience, which they can bring to the mid-season tournament opening on 10 October.

“Actually, we’re very happy and blessed because our goal this conference is to build our connection,” Chameleons winger Jonah Sabete-Escamillan said after Nxled suffered a 22-25, 21-25, 19-25 loss in the winner-take-all championship last Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Last conference we were still adjusting to each other, and we really struggled even with Brooke (Van Sickle) playing.”

Nxled finished fifth in last season’s All-Filipino in its first tournament after a major revamp that included the tapping of the core of four-time PVL champion Petro Gazz following its leave of absence.

The Chameleons, who earned a spot in the six-team Invitationals after the 2026 AFC runner-up Cignal disbanded but played sans injured former Season Most Valuable Player Van Sickle, had a shaky start before steadying their run in the last two games of the preliminary round.

Nxled took the last finals seat through a superior match point earned over Creamline and dethroned PLDT after a three-way tie in 3-2 win-loss records.

The Chameleons, however, were swept by the young but internationally experienced Thais in the gold medal match.

“But we’re happy because Nxled is composed of new personnel, it’s basically a team. We’ll bring everything that we learned here into the next conference,” Escamilla said.