Reporting note: this article draws on gmanetwork.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
Nxled vs Galeries Tower had a little of everything at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday. Nxled won it 25-16, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19 in the PVL All-Filipino Conference Siklab series, and that's three straight victories for a team that's starting to look comfortable in tight spots.
For Galeries Tower, it's a different story. The High Risers are still winless after three games.
Nxled vs Galeries Tower: Sabete-Escamilan Sets the Tone
Jonah Sabete-Escamilan put up 22 points on 18 attacks, three blocks, and an ace. She also chipped in nine receptions, which is a hefty two-way workload for one night.
That's the kind of line that steadies a team. Nxled ran away with the opener by nine points, then let the second set slip 22-25. Instead of wobbling, they answered with 25-17 and closed it out 25-19.
Was the second frame a warning sign or just a blip? Probably a blip. Nxled never trailed in the match narrative after that, and the response in the third set was immediate.
Phillips and Van Sickle Give Nxled a Second Option
MJ Phillips finished with 14 points. Brooke Van Sickle added 12. When your top scorer goes for 22 and two teammates still land in double digits, the offense isn't leaning on one shoulder.
That spread matters in a four-setter. One dropped frame doesn't spiral when there are three hitters who can bail out a rotation, and Nxled showed exactly that in sets three and four.
Galeries Tower Still Hunting a First Win
Alyssa Bertolano paced the High Risers with 13 points. Solid individual night, no question. But 13 from your leader against a 22-14-12 spread on the other side is a tough trade.
Galeries Tower has now dropped all three of its games in the conference. The scoring gap is the obvious place to look, and it showed up in the margins of the third and fourth sets.
What Nxled's Third Straight Win Means
Three in a row is momentum, plain and simple. Nxled has now won a match where it controlled the flow and one where it had to absorb a bad set, and that's usually the sign of a squad settling into a conference.
For Galeries Tower, the search continues. Winless after three, the High Risers need something to flip early in their next outing before these four-set nights start stacking up.
The original report on this match comes from gmanetwork.com.
