CEBU CITY – Nxled bounced back in dominant fashion, sweeping Farm Fresh in a virtual playoff for the second seed, 25-13, 25-16, 25-14, to clinch its first-ever quarterfinal berth in the 2025 PVL On Tour on Sunday at the USJ-R Coliseum here.
After suffering their first loss of the tournament against PLDT the day before, the Chameleons responded emphatically, dismantling the Foxies to break the tie for second place in Pool A.
Nxled closed the group stage with a 4-1 record, securing the final playoff ticket in their bracket.
“We are developing. That’s the very good thing about my team. It’s important. We are closing the gap. And right now, we can say that it’s officially true that we are not the underdog of this conference,” said Italian head coach Etorre Guidetti, now in his second conference with the team.
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Nxled looked like a completely different team from the one that struggled to find rhythm against the towering High Speed Hitters just 24 hours prior. This time, the Chameleons came out composed and aggressive — led by EJ Carino, who turned in another strong performance after coming off the bench in the previous outing.
Inserted into the starting lineup in place of rookie Lyann De Guzman, Carino immediately made her presence felt with a game-high 19 points built on 16 attacks, two aces, and a block. She also chipped in three excellent receptions to fuel the Chameleons’ bounce-back win that snapped Farm Fresh’s three-game winning streak.
Team captain Chiara Permentilla added 10 points and tallied seven excellent digs, while Jovelyn Fernandez provided support with eight points and six digs. Setter Jaja Maraguinot orchestrated the offense with 11 excellent sets and also scored four points of her own.
Nxled dominated across the board, especially in attacking, where they held a commanding 36-18 advantage. They also edged the Foxies in blocks, 7-6, and overwhelmed them at the service line, 8-1 in aces.
“Right now, we are consistent in system and out of system. Also, today, they served really good. We were out of system. We set a high ball, and we solved immediately the situation. So right now, we got a system, and the system is working itself,” added Guidetti.
(C) PVL Images
Farm Fresh, meanwhile, settled for third place in Pool A with a 3-2 slate and will advance to the knockout round.
Trisha Tubu was the lone bright spot for the Foxies, scoring 12 points in the loss. Only five Farm Fresh players managed to score in the match, with Rizza Cruz and Jolina Dela Cruz each contributing five points.
