Reporting note: this article draws on gmanetwork.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Capital1 Edge ZUS Coffee in Another Five-Set Match
Capital1 PVL standings moved to 2-1 on Tuesday after the Solar Spikers outlasted ZUS Coffee, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 15-8, in the 2026 PVL Open Conference Siklab Series at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Capital1 vs ZUS Coffee result was the club's second win in three consecutive five-set matches.
Every Capital1 outing this conference has gone the distance. That pattern matters for how the 2-1 card should be read: the Solar Spikers are winning, but they are winning at maximum cost, and the margins in each set have been narrow enough that the record could look different with a handful of points reversed.
Bella Belen Posts a Triple-Double
Bella Belen finished with 29 points built on 25 attacks and four blocks, adding 16 digs and 15 receptions for a triple-double. It followed her career game against Akari, and it arrived in a match where Capital1 needed production in every phase.
The shape of that line is instructive. Double-figure digs and receptions alongside a heavy scoring load indicate how much of Capital1's possession runs through her, both in attack and in first contact.
Erika Santos and Vanie Gandler each chipped in 12 points. Santos supplied the game-sealing kill in the fifth set after entering for Sydney Niegos, who had cramped.
How the Fifth Set Turned
Zam Nolasco completed a quick play off a set from former college teammate Cloanne Mondoñedo to level the deciding frame at 6-6. Capital1 then broke away with a 6-1 run sparked by Belen, Gandler and Julia Coronel to seize a 12-7 cushion.
Cherry Nunag's running attack brought Capital1 to match point at 14-8. Santos, just substituted in, then sealed the victory from the opposite side.
ZUS Coffee had taken the opening frame after Capital1 clawed back to 20-24 through a 3-0 run from Santos and Gandler; Kate Santiago denied Niegos at the opposite side to close it out. Santos answered with two consecutive kills to end Set 2 at 25-17.
Set 3 stayed tight to 20-all, forced by Belen, before the Thunderbelles answered with a 5-2 run capped by a Jolina dela Cruz combination play and an AC Miner attack from the right wing. In Set 4, Belen finished a kill off a difficult Coronel set for a 24-20 lead, but Niegos buried a cross-court kill to drag ZUS Coffee into a fifth set.
Where Capital1 Sit in the PVL Standings
Capital1 opened its campaign with a loss to Choco Mucho, then scored a breakthrough win over Akari, with both matches also going the distance. The source describes the 2-1 record as placing the Solar Spikers among the league's current top teams, though the conference table is still early and no further standings detail was provided.
ZUS Coffee remains without a win, having previously lost to Choco Mucho. The Thunderbelles took two sets here and forced a decider, which is a measurable step for a side still chasing a first victory.
What to Watch Next
Three straight five-setters is a workload question. Capital1's scoring has leaned heavily on Belen, whose 29 points were the clear high mark of the night, and the cramping issue that removed Niegos late in the fifth is worth tracking.
For ZUS Coffee, the immediate task is converting extended sets into finishes. The Thunderbelles have now shown they can stay in matches; closing them is the next step.
The original report on this match was published by gmanetwork.com.
