Coming off seven straight losses in the previous Reinforced Conference, Nxled showed glimpses of brilliance in its 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference opener, though the ending stayed the same.
With a new head coach, Italian Ettore Guidetti, the Chameleons displayed a lot of fight but ultimately bowed to the PLDT High Speed Hitters in four sets, 15-25, 17-25, 25-22, 22-25, on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena.
Leading Nxled was Chiara Permentilla, who has Italian roots, making it easier for her to communicate with their new mentor.
“Nandoon talaga yung connection and sometimes, during the game, during training if he wants to tell me something like super quick lang he would tell it to me in Italian para mabilis lang talaga sabihin, something like that,” shared Permentilla, who unloaded a game-high 21 points, 15 excellent receptions, and 10 digs in the loss.
“I mean, sometimes during the game, it’s helpful to give one of your players some indication in a language that only we can understand. Also, because you guys are better than me in English. So every time that I give my team some indication a little too loud in English, obviously, the people on the other side, on the front row of the other team, they understand what I’m talking about,” added Guidetti.
“So, sometimes it’s better to use some kind of little Italian trick,” continued the Italian coach, Nxled’s third in as many conferences.
(C) PVL Images
Although unable to break their losing streak dating back to the last conference, Guidetti was satisfied with his team’s performance in his PVL debut.
After PLDT dominated the first two frames, Nxled managed to bounce back in the third set to extend the match. They also rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth set to close the gap before ultimately falling short.
That effort was enough for Guidetti, for now.
“You know, when you play a first game like [against] PLDT, the risk is to take a 3-0 in 25 minutes (per set) and go home depressed,” shared the Chameleons’ tactician, who has coaching experience in Italy, Sweden, and Romania.
“And now we exit this game having hope and understanding that maybe we can be kind of good in this conference. With good organization, fewer mistakes, and solid volleyball, [we can be good].”
