By Abby Toralba
NEW team Nxled debuted on a high note yesterday, whipping Gerflor 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 as the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference Season 6 got going at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Powered by a with a mix of seasoned campaigners and rising stars, the Chameleons got off to a strong start and controlled the match from start to finish, essaying a one-hour and 21-minute victory that left majority surprised.
“Our target is everyone playing and we did it. We also focused on blocking and more catching and kill points,” said Nxled’s coach Japanese Taka Minowa, husband of former PVL MVP Jaja Santiago, who hurdled his first PVL game after stints with the Saitama Ageo Medics in Japan and Liaoning Tengda in China.
Lycha Ebon, who practically spent the past three conferences on Akari’s bench, seized the moment and fired 14 points on 12 attacks and two blocks, while Jho Maraguinot added 11 markers and made six excellent receptions.
Krisch Macaslang and May Luna added seven points apiece while the returning Judith Abil had a seven-point output with seven excellent digs for the Chameleons.
“We had good stops. We had broken the opponent’s side-out system,” said Minowa. “We got a lot of break points and that’s a good point in this match.”
