EST Cola pulled a trick from up its sleeve when defeat seemed all but certain, rising from a huge fourth-set deficit to stun Nxled, 26-24, 21-25, 21-25, 30-28, 15-12, in a five-frame thriller Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After escaping with a slim win in the opening set before the Chameleons took control of the next two frames, the Thailand guest team found itself staring at the end when Nxled built a 20-12 lead in Set 4.
But EST Cola somehow clawed its way back, with winger Papatchaya Phontham firing an ace to put them at set point first, 24-23.
The Chameleons refused to go away, though, as the Thais had to erase four match points along the way before veteran ace Nannaphat Moonjakham delivered in the clutch to keep her team alive.
With the momentum suddenly flipped, EST Cola completed one of the wildest comebacks of the 2026 PVL Invitational and moved into solo second at 2-1, turning a match that was slipping away into a stunning five-set win.
Next up is EST Cola's biggest test yet, a showdown with unbeaten league leader Creamline on Friday.
"Creamline is the number one and it's not easy for team Thailand because they have a key player [Jaja Santiago-Minowa]," said Moonjakham.
"We're getting better. Fighting."
Moonjakham then capped her monster 22-point, 20-dig double-double with the game-winning attack in the fifth set.
Another Thai national team mainstay in Phontham led EST Cola with 26 points, while Nirarach Srikuta added a 21-point, 16-reception double-double as the Thai club moved into the finals berths.
Not even five Nxled players reaching double figures and a 24-block output could save the Chameleons after that fourth-set meltdown, despite Jonah Sabete-Escamillan's huge 26-point, 21-dig, 13-reception triple-double.
Myla Pablo added 16 points, MJ Phillips had 13 with six blocks, and Jackie Acuna scored 11, while Gel Cayuna did it all with 23 excellent sets, 10 points and 12 digs in the crushing defeat.
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