With one PVL win under his belt, Nxled head coach Ettore Guidetti hopes to do more with the Chameleons moving forward.
It was a long time coming, but the Nxled Chameleons have finally scored their first win in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference after beating the Nxled Chameleons 25-20, 19-25, 25-14, 25-23 over the weekend at the Philsports Arena.
This also marks head coach Ettore Guidetti’s first win in the PVL since taking over the Chameleons last September ahead of the extended conference.
“It feels good, it makes me want to have more,” he said post-game. “I waited I think four or five months to get the first victory and honestly, it’s got a very good and sweet taste.”
Nxled had been on a 15-game losing streak ahead of Saturday, with their last victory also coming against the Highrisers during the 2024 Reinforced Conference. They were on a 0-8 start as well for the All-Filipino Conference under Guidetti.
But the veteran mentor never lost faith in his team, having seen their work ethic and immense potential beyond the losses.
“The fact that I am still here after a bunch of losses says that I am feeling very good with my team. So they are really, really, really nice to coach, this is a very coachable team. Every single day, I am having a very nice day staying with them,” reflected the Italian coach.
“And this encouraged me to try to help them in any creative way because I have 16 very nice human beings! And it’s part of my work to use all that I can to help them develop and use maximum respect.”
Veteran EJ Laure topscored with 18 points against the Highrisers, while ninth-leading scorer Chiara Permentilla added 14 markers. Middle blocker May Luna-Lumahan poured in 12 along with Jeycel Delos Reyes’ eight in the four-set win against Galeries Tower.
Guidetti, though, believes the Chameleons had been steadily improving ahead of Saturday’s contest.
“It’s kind of four matches ago that I started to see a really very good improvement about the numbers. So we played in the beginning, it was honestly a big gap between us and some opponent teams,” he said. “Right now, we have really shortened the gap and I was really, really waiting for the day that we finally can click and win a very high and difficult set, and thanks God that day has finally come.
“So [Saturday] was that day and we are looking forward to the next game to show everyone this is not like the beginning.”
Ettore Guidetti and Nxled will have two more preliminary round games against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans and league leader Petro Gazz Angels. Much like their previous games, it will be a matter of treating each opponent with respect for the Chamelons.
“Honestly we don’t have a kind of special preparation, so basically we try to prepare everyone in the same way. It’s a matter of respect and we don’t think we are going to play against someone special. We think everyone is special in a good way,” he said.
And despite a flat start to his Philippine volleyball career, Guidetti’s previous stints in Poland, Sweden, and Italy have sharpened his resolve against adversity. Given this, it’s a matter of just getting better after each loss in the All-Filipino Conference.
“It’s not exactly my first conference and it’s probably not even one of my most difficult ones because I have had very hard times maybe in Poland or in other countries. But the truth is that when you step after a match, maybe a loss, you go to practice and you finish the practice full of energy because your team is mirroring the will to be better,” reflected Guidetti.
“This is an incredible help for me as a professional, and it tells me not to keep going but to forget immediately about the frustration and to put more energy.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.