FEW would have penciled in Nxled and EST Cola as the two teams left standing at the end of the 2026 PVL Invitational preliminaries.
One is a program that has spent the last two years steadily building itself from an also-ran into a legitimate contender. The other is a Thai guest team that arrived in the PVL with little familiarity but proved it had the talent and experience to compete with the league's established powers.
READ: EST Cola rides rumbling rally past Nxled en route to solo second
Together, they navigated a field that included 11-time champion Creamline and defending Invitational champion PLDT, earning the right to meet for the title in what has become one of the league's more unexpected finals matchups.
And if their preliminary-round meeting is any indication, Nxled and EST Cola may have already given everyone a preview of how closely contested the title showdown can be.
2026 PVL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Tuesday | Sep. 8 | Smart Araneta Coliseum
- BATTLE FOR 5TH (1:30 p.m.): FARM FRESH vs HO CHI MINH
- BATTLE FOR 3RD (4 p.m.): CREAMLINE vs PLDT
- FINALS (6:30 p.m.): EST COLA vs NXLED
NXLED and EST Cola will head into the 2026 PVL Invitational finals knowing there was very little separating them the first time around.
Their preliminary-round meeting went the distance, with EST Cola surviving Nxled's best stretch before coming away with a 26-24, 21-25, 21-25, 30-28, 15-12 victory. What looked like a Chameleons win in the making turned into a test of EST Cola's ability to stay composed when the match started getting away from it.
NXLED had taken control after dropping the opening set, winning the next two and building a commanding 20-12 lead in the fourth. But EST Cola found a way back behind its steady attack and composure down the stretch, eventually forcing the extended set before taking the fifth to secure a win that would become an important part of its run to the finals.
Thailand national team ace Papatchaya Phontham enters the finals as the tournament's second-leading scorer after piling up 97 points, or 19.4 per game, while also ranking third in spiking with a 35.74 percent success rate.
Alongside her is fellow Thai standout Nannaphat Moonjakham, whose all-around game has made her one of EST Cola's most important players, ranking eighth in scoring with 77 points or 15.4 per game while also posting 2.89 digs per set and a 33.33 percent receiving efficiency.
“No matter what, a team is a team. I can’t play by myself. We have to play together as a team. Even if I can help a lot or only a little, if it were just me alone, then it wouldn’t be a team,” Phontham said.
NXLED has also established itself as one of the tournament's strongest teams at the net, with Myla Pablo ranking second in blocking at 0.75 per set and Phillips third at 0.50.
That combination gives the Chameleons a different way to challenge EST Cola, particularly after their first meeting showed that they have enough size and scoring to put the Thai side under sustained pressure.
“Yung Thailand kasi mga bata pa ‘yan eh, so ganado pa maglaro, hindi pa napapagod talaga. Kami naman, as a veteran team, kailangan talaga namin ibigay ‘yung best namin sa loob ng court. Laruin lang talaga namin, kumbaga, kung ano ‘yung sasabihin ng mga coaches namin, papakinggan lang namin,” Pablo said.
The question for Nxled heading into the finals is whether it can finish what it started.
The Chameleons had EST Cola in a difficult position the first time around and were within reach of closing out the match before the Thai side turned the fourth set around.
EST Cola, meanwhile, will draw confidence from having already weathered Nxled's strongest push and finding a way to recover.
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