Capital1 woke up after a lethargic start to turn back winless Galeries Tower, 12-25, 29-27, 25-19, 25-18, and improve its seeding heading into the quarterfinals of the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Solar Spikers closed the eliminations with a 4-4 record and 13 match points, securing at least the seventh seed — or possibly higher — with the Akari Chargers (4-4) finishing with only 12 points.
Capital1 will now hope for a PLDT win over Petro Gazz later in the day to clinch the No. 6 spot in the knockout quarterfinals.
(C) PVL Images
“Well, we knew that it’s gonna be super hard since [Galeries] has nothing to lose, and also we have to show up because our last two matches were a little bit under the level that we intend to play,” said Solar Spikers head coach Jorge de Brito after the one-hour and 57-minute match, referencing their losses to Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo.
“Of course, we’ve been working to make this happen, and not occasionally, you have more than six players to help us and it’s an important part. As a team, we did it again,” he added.
After being stunned in the opener, the Solar Spikers clawed their way back with a tight second-set win, 29-27, behind clutch hits from Bella Belen and Sydney Niegos.
Capital1 then ensured Galeries Tower would not force a deciding set, unleashing a fiery 10-1 run that broke an 8-all deadlock in the fourth frame and ballooned the lead to 18-9. Sasha Bytsenko spearheaded the onslaught, powering them to the finish.
Ukrainian import Bytsenko erupted for 35 points built on 32 attacks, while Belen backed her with 14 points and 15 excellent digs.
Second-string setter Nikka Yandoc steadied Capital1 after the shaky first set, tallying 19 excellent sets in relief.
(C) PVL Images
Galeries Tower, meanwhile, ended the import-laced conference winless.
Montenegrin reinforcement Jelena Cvijovic led the Highrisers with 18 points and 15 excellent receptions, while France Ronquillo added 17 points, including four aces.
Jean Asis and Ysa Jimenez chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Julia Coronel tallied 22 excellent sets along with five points built on four blocks.
