Reporting note: this article draws on philstar.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Bella Belen scoring rescues Capital1 again
Bella Belen scoring again proved decisive for Capital1 as the Solar Spikers escaped ZUS Coffee, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 15-8, in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Pulse Series at the Mall of Asia Arena. The five-set win was Capital1’s second in a row and kept all three of its matches this conference on the full route.
Belen finished with a 29-point effort and recorded four blocks, 16 digs and 15 excellent receptions. The all-around line mattered because Capital1 dropped the first and third sets before controlling the fourth and deciding fifth.
It was her second major scoring performance in less than a week. She had produced a career 35-point explosion with 20 digs and 19 receptions in another five-set escape over Akari, a match in which the source report said Belen bailed the Solar Spikers out.
The 29-point match came four points below that career high. It also arrived with fewer digs and receptions than the Akari line, but under the same condition: Capital1 needed a full five sets to win.
Capital1’s five-set pattern holds against ZUS Coffee
Capital1’s start to the conference has been defined by distance. All three of its matches have gone five sets, including a heartbreaking defeat in the Cebu opener last Oct. 10. The win over ZUS Coffee therefore extended a pattern rather than breaking it.
“It’s another comeback,” said Capital1 coach Jorge de Brito. The source report framed the result around Belen’s ability to take charge while the team’s setter situation continued to settle.
The set margins were not uniform: Capital1 lost the opener by five and the third by three, then won the second by eight, the fourth by five and the fifth by seven. The deciding set was the clearest separation on the scoreboard.
ZUS Coffee, the Thunderbelles, dropped to 0-2. Capital1, owned by Milka and Mandy Romero, moved to its second straight win in the Pulse Series.
Julia Coronel finds rhythm alongside Belen
Setter Julia Coronel split time with battle-rested Jasmine Nabor and credited Belen for holding the team’s structure. “I’m very grateful, of course, that Bella was able to hold our ground while I’m still trying to find my rhythm, role in the team but Bella is ever reliable so we’re very grateful to have her,” Coronel said.
Coronel moved to Capital1 after her Galeries Tower contract expired. The former La Salle star said she still sees room for improvement and vowed to learn on the fly.
On her connection with Belen, Coronel described steady progress: “So far, I think I’ve seen so much progress with our connection (with Belen), we always communicate, we’re being patient with our connection and we both know it’s a process and we can’t force it.”
What Belen’s workload means for Capital1
Belen’s consecutive five-set outputs give Capital1 a clear short-term anchor. The 29-point match followed the 35-point career high, and both required significant defensive work: 16 digs and 15 excellent receptions against ZUS Coffee, then 20 digs and 19 receptions against Akari.
Compared with the Akari match, Belen’s scoring dropped from 35 to 29, while her digs fell from 20 to 16 and receptions from 19 to 15. Those numbers frame her current run as another high-volume rescue rather than a lighter workload.
The statistical contrast is straightforward. Capital1 has needed full matches to secure results, and Belen has supplied both scoring volume and back-row stability in those extended contests. The source report does not list Capital1’s next opponent.
The original report was published by philstar.com.
