Prolific scorer Bella Belen got all the help she could get in Capitall’s historic bounce back victory over Farm Fresh, 26-24, 20-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-11, in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
For a change, the top overall pick in the last Draft shared the scoring load with two other teammates logging in double-digit productions in a collective effort of the Solar Spikers to bring down the Foxies for the first time since joining the league in 2024.
Capital1 ended a five-game head-to-head skid over Farm Fresh, which saw its two-game romp come to an end, to improve to an even 3-3 win-loss record.
But it didn’t come easy.
The Solar Spikers squandered a 9-7 advantage in the fifth set as they allowed the Foxies to make a run and tie it at 10 on a Ces Molina kill.
Belen fired back with a back row hit in a closing 5-0 run she punctuated with the game-winning crosscourt kill.
Belen finished with 23 points on 20 spikes and three kill blocks backed by Sydney Niegos’ 20 markers for Capital1, which rebounded from a straight sets loss to Creamline where the freshman was the only Solar Spiker in double-digit scoring.
Belen also tallied 19 excellent receptions and 12 digs.
“We talked about it before the start of the game that we’ve not beaten Farm Fresh ever since Capital1 started. Then everybody shouted, ‘This is the day!’ So our mindset was to go all-out and we told ourselves we’re going to win this,” said Niegos, who had 17 kills, two kill blocks and an ace.
Shaya Adorador added 14 points while Cherry Nunag and Pauline Gaston contributed eight markers each for Capital1.
The Solar Spikers wasted two set point advantages in the second frame and even went down, 25-26, after a Trisha Tubu off the block kill.
Gaston equalized for Capital1 as Belen and Niegos scored back-to-back hits to put the set away for a 2-1 match lead after splitting the first two frames.
Farm Fresh erected a 15-9 lead in the fourth frame only to see Capital1 trim it down to two, 20-18. The Foxies answered with a 3-1 run to create more breathing space, 23-19.
Gaston put the Solar Spikers back on the board but Tubu pushed Farm Fresh at set point before the Foxies won a video challenge on reaching beyond the net to force a decider.
The Foxies fell to a 2-3 card despite the 30-point explosion of Tubu while Molina scored 21 points, Rizza Cruz got 12 and Royse Tubino had nine.