Bionic Brooke

Games on Tuesday:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

1 p.m. — Capital1 vs ZUS Coffee

6 p.m. — PLDT vs Akari

It was as tough as it could get.

Nxled had to work harder and a little longer to put away a feisty Farm Fresh in a marathon, 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12, victory to stay unbeaten in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Season 10 All-Filipino Conference Siklab series on Saturday at the Playtime FilOil Centre in San Juan.

Brooke Van Sickle, Myla Pablo and Jonah Sabete-Escamillan took care of business in the final set as the Chameleons denied the Foxies a reverse sweep and bagged a second straight win in as many outings. Nxled joined Choco Mucho on top of the standings.

Nxled flexed its blocking prowess with 23 kill blocks, including the game-clinching shutdown of Pablo on Royse Tubino to close out the exhausting two-hour, 33-minute battle.

“It’s very, very tiring. But I’m proud of the team for fighting. It’s tough whenever it gets into a fifth set. It’s unpredictable. So, I’m really glad and happy for the team for digging deep,” Van Sickle said.

The Filipino-American winger finished with a game-high 20 points on 14 kills and six kill blocks and contributed on the defensive end with 16 digs to pace the Chameleons.

“I’d give it to Farm Fresh. I think they made good adjustments as the game went on. They definitely pushed us to our limits. They’re a team, and that goes for all the teams, I think this conference no one’s gonna give up without a fight. So, that being said, we gotta be running for every point, every set. Moving forward, we gotta lock in big time,” Van Sickle said.

Pablo scored 11 of her 17 points on kills, Jackie Acuna was active at the net with seven kill blocks for a 12-point output while MJ Phillips added 11 for Nxled.

The Chameleons easily took the first two sets but the Foxies refused to just go down without a fight and even kept the fifth set close before Nxled blasted a closing 8-5 run.

“Yes, I think that the game is made of two decisive parts. In the first part, definitely our strategy was working great. Also, the mixing (of players) was working great. And in the second part, to be honest, they simply played better than us. So, the third set is a 23-25, the fourth set is a 20-25. (But) I’m happy anyway because this is a win against a very good team,” Chameleons Italian coach Ettore Guidetti said.

Nxled’s victory also served as a revenge win over the same team that eliminated the Chameleons in the Season 9 AFC Play-in tournament final round in straight sets.

“This is a win against a team that, honestly, is difficult for us to play with. They showed us that last year. So, to be ready to fight and to find a good energy and winning energy in the fifth set, for me, is a great reaction,” Guidetti added.

Nxled had a hard time shaking off Farm Fresh in the fifth set.

The Chameleons trailed the Foxies early in the final frame, 2-5 before rallying to take a 6-5 advantage. It was tied at 7-7 when Nxled created some breathing room for a 13-10 advantage.

Pablo put Nxled at match point before Tubino saved a point. Putting Farm Fresh’s desperate play in check, Pablo soared high to shut the door on Tubino.

“What’s on my mind is to look to block whenever inside the court. Even a ball touch is good enough for me since we have strong players in front with Brooke and MJ. I just keep on reminding myself every set to get a touch or a block because that’s my work as an opposite. Getting a good hit is a bonus,” Pablo said.

Ces Molina finished with 16 points on 13 attacks, two kill blocks and an ace for the Foxies, who slipped to a 1-1 mark tied with Capital1.

Mylene Paat-Rezanova had 12 points while Trisha Tubu, Rizza Cruz and Jonna Perdido added nine points in a lost cause.