Nxled’s opening-day clash against Farm Fresh in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference carried layers far deeper than the five-set result suggested.
Rebuilt around the former core of Petro Gazz, the Chameleons immediately felt tested by a Foxies side guided by a familiar hand — Koji Tsuzurabara, the coach who led that team to its first championship in the same conference last year.
Tsuzurabara’s familiarity with the very players he worked with during his first stint in the Philippines was evident, as Farm Fresh appeared to have figured out Nxled after dropping the opening set and surged to a 2–1 lead.
(C) PVL Images
“As always, Coach Koji knows us, so he knows what we struggle at and what we’re good at. So I already knew it was gonna definitely be hard offensively to score, just because he knows the players and he’s been around the game for a long time,” said Brooke Van Sickle.
“I feel like he did a really good job developing Farm Fresh and their defense. I thought they had a lot of good plays, soaked up the ball and played a lot, making good decisions. I definitely think that it was a long-rally game,” she added.
Nxled, however, leaned on its depth and composure to steady itself.
With Italian coach Ettore Guidetti expanding the rotation, the Chameleons found the spark they needed off the bench in Lyann de Guzman and Aduke Ogunsanya, who replaced starters Chiara Permentilla and Krich Macaslang.
“Very proud of everyone for doing a great job. I thought Lyann, especially being one of the young guns, she did a fantastic job. She came in and produced a lot of points and a lot of energy. Myla, as always, killing it,” said the three-time league MVP.
“Coach obviously believed in everyone, so it was definitely a full team effort,” she added.
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Van Sickle finished with 20 points on 18 attacks and two blocks, along with 11 excellent receptions, while another former Petro Gazz star, Myla Pablo, contributed 19 points, all from attacks.
Pablo had also joined Nxled after the disbandment of the Angels alongside MJ Phillips, Jules Tolentino, Jonah Sabete, Djanel Cheng, Bang Pineda, Ranya Musa, AA Adolfo, and Jellie Tempiatura. She admitted it was a welcome sight to face familiar faces in Tsuzurabara and Remy Palma across the net.
“Sobrang nakaka-excite kasi syempre si Remy, coach Koji alam niya ‘yung galaw namin nung sa Petro Gazz. I’m really happy na nakabalik siya sa Pilipinas and hopefully, maka-bonding namin siya after this.”
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Brooke Van Sickle and Myla Pablo say that their former head coach Koji Tsuzurabara made Nxled’s game against Farm Fresh tough#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/5C9bLc7c5q
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