Bella Belen took over down the stretch to power Capital1 to a 25-17, 25-16, 15-25, 25-19 victory over ZUS Coffee for a strong start in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The top overall pick in the Draft accounted for half of the Solar Spikers’ closing 12-2 blitz in the tightly contested fourth set to seal the deal.
Belen hammered 24 attacks and landed two aces in a 26-point performance she laced with 16 digs and seven excellent receptions for Capital1, which outgunned the Reinforced Conference runner-up, 63-45.
“I’m just looking to contribute to the team since we already have a chance to close out the game. It’s a now or never situation for us because if we don’t go all out in that set, they could take that chance to steal one from us,” Belen said.
Shaya Adorador had 14 points, Ysa Jimenez scored 13 and Pauline Gaston finished with 10 for the Solar Spikers.
Capital1 built a five-point lead at the start of the fourth frame, only to see it vaporized when the Thunderbelles unleashed a 10-1 run for a 17-13 advantage.
Belen anchored a 9-0 blast, scoring four in the fightback to go up, 22-17. ZUS Coffee stopped the bleeding and scored back-to-back points but the National University product Belen fired consecutive hits to bring the Solar Spikers at match point.
Chinnie Arroyo’s committed an attack error to end the game.
Thea Gagate scored 15 points to pace ZUS Coffee. Rizza Nogales finished with 12 markers while Arroyo and Jovelyn Gonzaga got 11 and 10 points, respectively.