NXLED came from behind to post an emotional 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16 win over sister club Akari in the 2023 PVL All-Filipino Conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday.
A staggering 28 excellent sets for Kamille Cal helped the Chameleons end a five-game skid, improving to 2-5 (win-loss).
An all-important win meant much more for NXLED as the players wore white ribbons in their arms in honor of May Luna's mother, who passed away two days before the match.
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And it was fitting that Luna scored the game-winning point for NXLED before teammates embraced her.
"(The white ribbons) are for the mother of Ate May (Luna) who passed away the other day. Instead of going home, she decided to stay and play for this game kaya sobrang naging emotional 'yung panalo namin kanina," Cal bared.
Delighted as he was with the win, NXLED head coach Taka Minowa shared how fielding Luna, who had a team-high 14-point output, was a difficult decision to make.
"It’s kind of a difficult decision to use May Luna inside the court because she has kept on crying every day after her mom died. It’s really sad for us, she wasn’t able to join the practice.
“That’s why we were confused about using her, but she practiced last time and was very good so we used her. Her performance (versus Akari) was very good," said Minowa.
Akari, meanwhile, kept eight place but slid to a 3-4 slate after its third consecutive loss.
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