NXLED is on the cusp of a franchise first.
One last play-in win over Farm Fresh will push the Chameleons into the PVL semifinals for the first time in their history, a milestone that once felt distant for a team still finding its identity in its third year.
READ: Nxled had to 'suffer together' before flipping the switch
They opened the conference looking every bit like a contender, stringing together three straight wins before a four-game skid threatened to derail their campaign.
Just as quickly, though, Nxled found its footing, closing the preliminaries with two crucial wins to stay alive to force their way into the play-in.
That second life was put to good use, as the Chameleons got past Galeries Tower in four sets before the Holy Week break, settling an earlier loss and moving within one step of the semifinals.
For Myla Pablo, the situation calls for something she knows very well.
The former MVP has built her career on navigating tight races and must-win games, and she is now banking on that experience to guide a younger Nxled side.
“‘Yung kapit namin before sa Petro Gazz, sanay kami na naghahabol sa mga crucial games kasi ‘yung standing namin, laging nasa No. 6 o No. 7,” she said.
“Kaya nu’ng lumipat kami sa Nxled, ngayon with coach Ettore [Guidetti], kailangan ‘yung mga nangyari sa’min sa Petro Gazz is ma-apply namin.”
Encore in green?
Just in last year’s Reinforced Conference, the now-defunct Angels finished a lowly fifth at the end of the preliminaries before piecing together three straight knockout playoff wins to complete a title run that would stand as their fourth and last.
Now, the same core of players who navigated that stretch are tasked with guiding the Chameleons through their very own defining moment.
It might be yet another familiar test for Pablo, but for the franchise, it is a golden opportunity to break new ground.
“Kami naman, in crucial games talaga, lumalabas naman ‘yung communication namin, ‘yung leadership ng bawat isa, at ‘yung tapang namin,” she said.
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