MANILA, Philippines — Nxled became the first team to make the semifinal round of the 2026-27 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference-Siklab Series after overpowering Akari, 27-25, 25-22, 26-24, on Thursday afternoon at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
Nxled remained undefeated at 6-0. This marks the Chameleons’ first All-Filipino Conference semifinal appearance since their league debut in 2023. Their previous best finish in the tournament was fifth place in the 2025-26 season.
"This means a lot and this is the continuity that we started in the Invitational Conference, and this is something that we really like. Today was tough and rough," Nxled’s Italian head coach Ettore Guidetti said.
It is also important to note that Nxled’s current roster features several members of Petro Gazz’s 2024-25 All-Filipino Championship team: Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, Myla Pablo, and Jonah Sabete, who all joined their forces to defeat the league’s 11-time champions, the Creamline Cool Smashers.
The Petro Gazz stalwarts transferred to Nxled after the franchise announced its leave of absence from the league in January 2026.
Akari, on the other hand, dropped to 3-4 behind Creamline (4-1), Farm Fresh (4-2), Choco Mucho (3-3) and PLDT (3-3) in the team standings.
Nxled has two remaining games in the elimination round, against Creamline on Tuesday and ZUS Coffee on Saturday. If Nxled wins over Creamline, the Chameleons will earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Akari will try to cap the first-round campaign with a win against ZUS on Tuesday.
