Still undefeated: Nxled shuts off Akari, bags first semis seat

Games tomorrow:

(Philsports Arena)

1 p.m. — Galeries Tower vs PLDT

3:30 p.m. — VNS vs AEP-Cabstars

6 p.m. — Capital1 vs Farm Fresh

Nxled secured the first semifinals seat after beating sister team Akari, 27-25, 25-22, 26-24, for its sixth straight victory in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Season 10 All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Despite the tough resistance put up by the Chargers and the winger Jonah Sebete-Escamillan going down with a left leg injury in the third set, the Chameleons pulled off the sweep to stay unbeaten.

Setter Gel Cayuna’s superb playmaking powered Nxled’s balanced scoring while the Chameleons’ vaunted net defense once again took the spotlight in the one-hour, 47-minute triumph.

The franchise entered its first AFC semifinals since joining the league in 2023.

“(This semifinals entry means) a lot,” Nxled head coach Ettore Guidetti said.

Ironically, the Chameleons have already experienced playing in the finals after a runner-up finish in the Season 10 Invitational Conference where teams played in a round-robin format where the top two squads earned outright gold medal match entries.

“Honestly, a lot is the continuity that we started to have with the Invitational and this is something that we really like. Today was tough and rough. And so, we are really happy that those three points are made for something important,” the Italian mentor said.

Former Season Most Valuable Player Brooke Van Sickle led the Chameleons with 10 points, nine coming from kills, while Myla Pablo, EJ Laure-Carino and MJ Phillips added nine points.

The Chameleons had 12 kill blocks with Pablo scoring four and Phillips tallying three defensive stops.

Cayuna tallied 17 excellent sets, Jackie Acuna scored seven while Escamillan had six points and four excellent receptions but unfortunately ended her day early after hurting her leg on a bad landing midway into the third.

Escamillan was carted out of the court with the Chameleons trailing, 14-16.

A quick check on Escamillan showed negative signs of major injury but the versatile spiker is set to undergo further tests.

With one of its veterans down, Nxled rallied with a 6-2 run to seize a two-point lead.

Akari, however, refused to back down as setter Mars Alba repeatedly turned to Fifi Sharma for quick attacks, with the combination producing three points, including one that gave the Chargers a 23-22 advantage.

Cayuna answered with a kill block followed by libero Bang Pineda’s scoring off a dig that bounced over the net to an unguarded Zone 1 for a 24-23 lead.

Ivy Lacsina desperately tried to chase the ball but ended up missing the dig and hurting her nape after colliding with the LED Board.

Sharma saved a point but Cayuna scored on a 1-2 play before Carino’s finishing blow.

“We just stuck it out together. Akari is a very hard team for us to play. They’re very good in defense and blocking and a very scrappy team, so we communicated early and just had to stay resilient and very patient as the game went on,” Van Sickle said.

The Chargers slipped to a 3-4 record that pushed them on the brink of elimination.

Eli Soyud had 16 points on 13 kills, two kill blocks and an ace while Celine Domingo scored 10 for Akari.