Block party: Nxled crushes Galeries Tower, wins 3rd straight

Games on Saturday:

(Playtime FilOil Centre)

1 p.m. — PLDT vs Capital1

6 p.m. — Creamline vs ZUS Coffee

Nxled’s vaunted net defense spelled the difference once again as it recovered from a second-set meltdown to defeat Galeries Tower, 25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, for a third straight win to stay on top of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Season 10 Siklab series Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After scoring a tournament-high 23 kill blocks in their previous outing, the Chameleons tallied 14 denials to put down the feisty yet still winless Highrisers for a perfect 3-0 win-loss record.

“It’s pretty clear after two games that we’re very good in block. It’s a good help also for the defense because if the block is working well, the work of the defense is definitely simpler,” Nxled Italian coach Ettore Guidetti said.

Jonah Sabete-Escamillan took over the scoring load after banging in a game-high 22 points on 18 kills, three kill blocks and an ace for the Chameleons, who pulled off the victory despite throwing away 24 points on errors.

Escamillan added nine excellent sets for an all-around performance.

“I just want to support my teammates. Whatever I need to do I just to do it. I also know that my teammates are very capable,” the veteran winger said.

“It’s a good start for us and hopefully we can sustain it until the end. We just take it one game at a time. We constantly challenge ourselves and we don’t look at our wins. We’re focused in every game and look to get the result,” Escamillan added.

MJ Phillips scored three of her 14 points on kill blocks while former Season Most Valuable Player Brooke Van Sickle took a backseat on offense after pacing Nxled in the first two games. Van Sickle finished with 12 markers.

The Chameleons needed to mount comebacks in the third and fourth sets after falling into early deficits to avoid another five-setter following their marathon win over Farm Fresh last Saturday.

“It’s nice to see that we had the same resilience that we’ve shown in the last part of the PVL On Tour and especially during the whole Invitational. We started, definitely, following the same line,” Guidetti said.

“You see determination in the team. I see the team calmer and more serene even if we’re facing difficult situation because this conference is composed of very good teams. There’s no single team you can consider weak,” he added.

“It’s really important to see this kind of energy being constant. It looks to me, the team is now more conscious of what they can do now. They are definitely more confident in reaching success even if it’s difficult.”

Nxled used a 14-4 run in the third frame to turn a 4-8 deficit into an 18-12 advantage to gain control.

Down, 7-9, in the fourth set, the Chameleons strung together six unanswered points to take the driver’s seat. Another strong burst opened a 22-14 gap for Nxled.

Sabete put the Chameleons at match point, 24-17, before Galeries Tower saved two points.

Phillips finished the job for Nxled with a quick attack of a perfect tempo set by playmaker Gel Cayuna, who tallied 20 excellent sets.

Victory remained elusive for the Highrisers as they lost for a third consecutive time.

Bertolano was the lone bright spot for Galeries Tower after tallying 13 points on 12 kills and a kill block.

Jean Asis had eight points while Erica Deloria and Lycha Ebon posted seven each for the Highrisers.

Top overall pick in the recent Draft, setter Lams Lamina, only had six excellent sets in 81 attempts as Galeries Tower got outspiked by Nxled, 46-61.