Chameleons take down Highrisers for 2nd straight win

MANILA, Philippines – For a team composed of rejects and players looking for second chances, the Nxled Chameleons have exceeded expectations.

Displaying the same grit and tenacity it showed in stunning big sister Akari a few days back, Nxled turned back Galeries Tower, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17, on Thursday and breathed life to its Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinal hopes at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

It was the second win in a row for the Chameleons that came after they slew the heavily favored Chargers, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16, Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

More importantly, Nxled stayed in semis contention with a 3-5 record.

Interestingly, most of the Nxled players came from the team they most recently beat, elder sibling Akari.

One of them was Krich Macaslang, who scattered 11 points on this while providing the energy when the Chameleons seemed to have lost it in the early sets.

And that was why Macaslang professed her appreciation for their Japanese coach Taka Minowa for taking them in knowing their history.

“Thankful kami ke coach Taka, he took this role knowing our history as bench players, second stringers. Nagtiwala siya sa amin sa kanyang sistema,” said Macaslang.

While Minowa remained unsatisfied, she liked the way his players communicated during the game.

“In the first and second sets, we’re moving right. It was a bad game even though we won, 3-0,” said Minowa, whose wife is former Chery Tiggo star Jaja Santiago. “But our focus our improved and our communication was very good and I’m so happy.”

The Highrisers dropped to 0-7.