Reporting note: this article draws on tiebreakertimes.com.ph; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Nxled internal competition pushes Chameleons to solo first
Nxled is alone at the top of the 2026 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Siklab series after three straight wins, and head coach Ettore Guidetti is pointing at his own practice court as the reason. The Chameleons fended off Galeries Tower, 25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, on Thursday to move to 3-0.
What has Guidetti excited is not just the record. It is the fact that his second unit has stopped behaving like a bench. EJ Carino, Jovelyn Fernandez, Lyann De Guzman, Djanel Cheng, Krich Macaslang and Ranya Musa are pushing the starters every session, and the coach says that fight is showing up on game day.
"It looks to me that they are not only developing technically, but they are also really fighting for their spots," Guidetti said. "The starting six are defending their positions, while the others are trying to take them."
Nxled blocking numbers through three games
The Chameleons have built this run at the net. They tallied 14 blocks against Galeries Tower on Thursday, following a 23-block outing against Farm Fresh and a nine-block performance against PLDT. Opposing attacks keep running into a front line that has been remarkably consistent across the early schedule.
Guidetti sees the block and the floor defense as connected pieces. "It's pretty clear after the two games that we are very good in blocking," he said. "It's definitely a good help also for the defense because when the block is working well, the work of the defense is definitely simpler."
That is the kind of edge that travels. Nxled does not need to win every rally at the net, but a block that redirects swings makes life easier for the players behind it, and the numbers so far suggest the pattern is holding.
Guidetti's practice plan: first six against second six
Guidetti said he normally likes to scramble his lineups in training, mixing the starters with the reserves. Lately he has gone further, setting the first starting six against the second starting six a couple of times a week, with an emphasis on the two days before a match.
"Right now, I noticed that our second starting six really leveled up and really developed," he said. "If I play the first starting six against the second one, they fight more."
The format of the Siklab series is helping him lean into that. Guidetti credited the all-to-play setup for giving him room to develop the whole roster rather than six or seven players, which matters in a conference where depth gets tested.
Side-out is the next fix for Nxled
For all the defensive success, Guidetti is clear about where his team is still short. He said he never complains about the block and defense phase, but the side-out game needs work, and the staff is on it.
"In side out, we can be better, and we are working on it," he said. That is the next test for a team that has won with defense first. If Nxled tightens its transition scoring, the early surge stops looking like a hot streak and starts looking like a conference problem for everyone else.
The Chameleons' next outing will show whether the block holds and whether the side-out work has taken. For now, Guidetti has a rotation fighting for places and a 3-0 record to show for it.
This report is based on the original story by tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
