IT didn’t take long for former Petro Gazz stars Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips to settle on their next destination in the PVL.
Following the Angels’ decision to take a leave of absence, the Fil-American standouts found themselves weighing their options before bringing their talents to Nxled.
READ: All you need to know about 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference
Among the strongest pulls for the duo was the opportunity to work under a foreign head coach for the first time in their domestic club careers, a prospect they both viewed as a chance to take the next big leap in their games despite already being among the league’s most accomplished stars.
“One, I've never played with an Italian head coach before, so that was also enticing, at least for me. Even though I'm kind of longer in my career now, it's still an opportunity for me to grow, and I'm really excited about that,” Phillips said, referring to Chameleons head coach Ettore Guidetti.
“Very similar to MJ. It’s nice to have an Italian coach in coach Ettore who is very experienced in volleyball. He's just a volleyball nerd in a good way,” Van Sickle added.
“He's just a great coach. He knows what he's doing, has a lot of experience around the world coaching in a lot of different countries, so it's really cool to be able to be a player for him because he takes little snippets from everywhere he's been and makes it his own kind of volleyball.”
Guidetti, 52, is a globetrotting Italian mentor with more than three decades of experience across club and national team setups in Europe and beyond.
While success has eluded him in previous PVL campaigns, the arrival of proven winners could signal a return to familiar territory.
That winning familiarity was another key factor behind Van Sickle and Phillips’ move, as several former Petro Gazz teammates also made the jump to Nxled.
“Honestly, some of the core girls of Petro Gazz came to Nxled and I also want to stick with family. The whole Nxled, the girls on Nxled, they also felt like family, and that's where I want to be,” Phillips said.
For Van Sickle, the decision was further eased by the Chameleons' youthful hunger even if wins were scarce in conference past.
“One thing that's really refreshing about them is i don't know if it's because like they're younger, but they just have a lot of grit. They're diving for balls, like very scrappy in a sense, and their ball control is phenomenal,” the three-time MVP said.
“In a way, we're learning from each other, we're feeding off each other and that's like pushing me more to be a better. All the young girls are fantastic. They carry themselves very well.”
To new beginnings
The pair learned of the Angels’ impending leave of absence while on holiday in Europe, a development that came as a shock, but eventually opened the door to a new chapter.
“It's inexplicable sometimes, and it is what it is. We just got to keep moving forward and stay optimistic,” Van Sickle said.
“Change is always good. It's always good to be in different environments. It's refreshing. So I'm excited to see how it goes and what we can do with Nxled.”
As for whether Nxled can immediately rise from the league’s lower tier to legitimate title contention, Van Sickle is cautiously optimistic of their chances.
“This is a good core group of women that I think can do really great things. So, we'll see,” BVS said.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
