CLASH OF CHAMPIONS
Nxled turned back Farm Fresh for a winning debut in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference on Tuesday.
But that’s the story on the surface.
Behind the 25-23, 13-25, 21-25, 25-15, 15-12 triumph was the clash between the former coach and players of Petro Gazz, the tournament’s defending champion, that left the throne unoccupied after filing a leave of absence.
In the wake of the Angels’ departure, Brooke Van Sickle, Myla Pablo and the core of the reigning queens found their way to Nxled in the offseason. Coach Koji Tsuzurabara, meanwhile, signed with dangerous Farm Fresh, after coaching Petro Gazz to the All-Filipino title last year.
“It’s good to see them. I didn’t get to talk to them much, but they look good,” Van Sickle, a three-time MVP, said as she admitted that the Japanese ex-coach and his former captain, Remy Palma, who is now a playing assistant coach for Farm Fresh, know the Angels so well and made the two-hour battle a test for Nxled.
“Coach Koji knows us, so he knows what we struggle with and what we’re good at. I already knew for a fact that it was going to be definitely hard offensively to score, just because he knows us as players,” said Van Sickle, who had 20 points and 11 excellent receptions.
“He’s been around the game for a long time, so I feel like he did a really good job at developing pressure in their defense. I thought they had a lot of really good plays. So he kept the ball in play a lot and just made good decisions at the right moments. I definitely think it was a long rally game, and we had to be patient with his take-home on our center court. I’m glad we were able to pull this one off.”
Pablo had 19 points as an opposite hitter. MJ Phillips added 13 points, while Nxled rookie Lyann de Guzman provided a boost off the bench with seven points.
“I’m super excited because, of course, [we played against] Remy and Coach Koji. We’re really happy that he was able to come back to the Philippines. And hopefully, we’ll be able to welcome him back here,” said Pablo in Filipino.
From a winless campaign in the Reinforced last year, Nxled’s recruitment haul of the ex-Angels led the club to a solid opener win, with Italian coach Ettore Guidetti relishing the impact of their champion players on his young holdovers.
“The difference about Nxled in this conference is simple to define. This is a team that wants to arrive and play at the top [level] for the whole conference,” said Guidetti.
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