THIS time, it wasn’t just Bella Belen alone.
Capital1 got timely contributions across the board in a gritty 26-24, 20-25, 28-25, 20-25, 15-11 victory over Farm Fresh in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Thursday at the Playtime Filoil Centre.
A Belen crosscourt hit highlighted Capital1’s five-of-six closing run in the deciding set to seal the win.
The Solar Spikers leaned not only on Belen’s 23-point, 19-reception, 12-dig triple-double, her sixth straight 20-point game this conference, but also on a career night from Niegos who also hit 20 points on 17 attacks, two blocks and one ace.
That also makes it three wins in six games for Capital1, making it the fifth team to hit the three-win mark in a tight seeding race halfway through the preliminaries.
"Ayaw ko po mawala yung trust ni Coach [Jorge Souza de Brito] kaya every chance na binibigay niya sa akin, since ito na yung second chance ko sa Capital1 na binalik nila ako, binibigay ko yung best ko kahit may masakit minsan sa'kin," said Niegos.
Every set Capital1 won, except the fifth, went the distance.
The Solar Spikers needed extra plays in the first and third frames to seize control of a back-and-forth duel.
An attack error from Royse Tubino handed Capital1 its first set point at 24-23 in the opener. Though Tubino quickly made amends to force a deadlock, Belen and Leila Cruz delivered the finishing blows to secure the extended first set.
Farm Fresh answered in the second, riding Ara Galang’s spark off the bench. Her late surge capped a four-point run that evened the match at one set apiece.
But the Solar Spikers regained the upper hand in another extended third set as Sydney Niegos, Belen and Pauline Gaston combined to convert after three set points and restore Capital1’s match lead.
Tubu, however, was far from done as she erupted again in the fourth, scoring three of their last five points to force a decider, with a controversial reaching infraction on Iris Tolenada sending the match into a fifth set.
Capital1 wasted no time in the tiebreak, racing to a 4-0 start. Tubu and Tubino kept Farm Fresh within striking distance, trimming the gap to one on multiple occasions before drawing level at 10-all behind a Ces Molina attack.
But from that point on, the Solar Spikers tightened the screws and held firm down the stretch to secure its second five-set victory of the tournament.
Molina backed Tubu's scoring masterclass with a 21-point, 14-reception double-double, while middle blocker Rizza Cruz added 12 points as the Foxies dropped their third game in five so far after a two-game win run.
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