Nxled put up a cluster of strong finishes to subdue Farm Fresh, 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 25-17, and wrap up its maiden Premier Volleyball League campaign with a joint eighth-place finish in the All-Filipino Conference before an overflowing crowd at the University of San Agustin Gymnasium in Iloilo Saturday night.
The Chameleons mounted comebacks in the first and third sets and eventually pulled away in a closely contested fourth-set battle with a scorching windup anchored on Jho Maraguinot’s impactful assaults and the team’s formidable net defense, highlighted by consecutive blocks that netted them a commanding 21-16 lead.
Back-to-back hits by Maraguinot against Kate Santiago’s kill put the Chameleons at match point, 24-17, and Camille Victoria secured the victory with an off-the-block hit against two defenders to end the intense clash in one-hour and 53 minutes.
Victoria went on to finish with 17 points, including 12 on attacks and five blocks, while showcasing her versatility by shifting from opposite spiker to middle blocker.
Reflecting on her performance, Victoria expressed gratitude to Nxled coach Taka Minowa for providing her the opportunity to play multiple positions.
“I’m thankful to coach (Taka) for giving me the opportunity to help the team by playing two positions,” said Victoria, who bagged the game’s top honors. “We were so excited (to play) since this is our last game and we really wanted to show what we worked hard for.”
The victory was Nxled’s fourth against seven losses as it tied F2 Logistics at eighth although the Chameleons officially ended up ninth. They, however, finished way ahead of fellow league newcomers Galeries Tower Highrisers (1-9) and Gerflor Defenders (0-10).
Their other victories were over the Defenders, the Highrisers and the Akari Chargers.
Farm Fresh, on the other hand, wound up with a 2-9 card for 10th in a record 12-team field in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
Minowa acknowledged the strength of Farm Fresh while underlining the need for his young team to continue improving and gaining more experience together.
“Actually they (Foxies) have good players. We need to do 120 percent, 100 percent isn’t enough for us against Farm Fresh because they’re actually strong,” said Minowa.
“Our team, they’re still young. They do not have (enough) experience (together) that’s why we need to be more strong,” added Minowa, while emphasizing his wards’ commitment to growth and pushing beyond their comfort zones.
Three other Chameleons churned out double-digit scores with Lycha Ebon finishing with 15 points and Maraguinot and Chiara Permentilla matching 12-point outputs. Krich Macaslang and Navarro combined for 12 markers.
Santiago topscored for Farm Fresh with 15 points while Jhasmin Pascual backed her up with 12 markers and Trisha Tubu, Rizza Cruz, Sam Nolasco, Alyssa Bertolano, Jade Gentapa and Louie Romero combined for 28 points as the Foxies lost only by seven on attack points.
But the Chameleons dominated the net, producing 14 blocks, eight more than the Foxies with the former also enduring an erratic night after yielding 25 points on unforced errors against their rivals’ 19.
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