As Nxled wraps up its maiden voyage with Ettore Guidetti, rest assured that each player will always have their chance to shine moving forward.
Ettore Guidetti’s first campaign with the Nxled Chameleons has come to a close in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
While success remained elusive for the Chameleons, Guidetti’s Philippine debut had its share of silver linings, such as his first PVL victory against the Galeries Tower Highrisers, and the solid output Nxled has received from the veteran EJ Laure.
It’s just the first step to building a contender, but the Italian mentor is confident with his team’s progress following their first conference together.
“Well, honestly, I’ve watched a lot of matches during the last Reinforced Conference, and when we compare the matches now, we are playing much better and that’s what’s most important, we are making less mistakes,” Guidetti told The GAME moments after Nxled’s 25-17, 25-17, 25-18 win over the Farm Fresh Foxies to close out their All-Filipino Conference campaign.
“The most important thing is the numbers, and all of the girls, they have developed. Some of them have made a big jump like Chiara [Permentilla], maybe like Jaycel [Delos Reyes], so some of the girls have had a real high improvement,” said Guidetti, with Permentilla emerging as the ninth-leading scorer during the preliminary rounds.
As early as now, Guidetti is making it a point to give his players equal opportunities, which will be an integral aspect of the winning culture he seeks to build within Nxled.
“The very good thing is that all of them have good improvement, and it’s because of the two percent rule. If every one of my players develops by two percent, it means that in every single skill, I will have 32 percent more [improvement], Guidetti said, referring to his 16-woman roster.
Also contributing to Nxled this conference are veterans Lycha Ebon, May Luna-Lumahan, and Krisch Macaslang, while former Adamson star Lucille Almonte was finally given a chance to shine under Guidetti.
“So that’s the idea, giving the same time to everyone, and giving the same number of balls to everyone, and giving the same number of repetitions to everyone. So I joke to everyone that I hate all of them equally, but the truth is I love all of them equally,” added the Italian mentor.
Team captain Permentilla vouched for Guidetti’s coaching philosophy, with the Chameleons accepting his approach with open arms. While it’s another coaching change for the players, having a mentor who believes in everyone was a huge shift from their previous experiences.
Permentilla shared how everybody is all ears towards Guidetti’s nuggets of wisdom, knowing that they have a mentor who wants nothing but the best for his team.
“Parang lahat kasi sa kanya, gusto niyang makita ‘yung potential and gusto niyang malabas namin siya sa training, and lahat natututukan niya, walang first six lang ‘yung tututukan ko tas second six wala lang,” shared Permentilla, who is now in her second season with Nxled.
“Yun ‘yung pinaka-na-appreciate namin na lahat kami kaya naming i-showcase ‘yung capabilities namin, and nakikita niya ‘yun, then everyone gets a chance sooner or later din naman during the game na mapakita.”
Nxled now looks to build on the lessons they’ve learned from this season’s All-Filipino Conference, which will hopefully come with the perfect rookie for Guidetti’s system as one of the lottery teams in this year’s PVL Rookie Draft.
“It’s very important for us, super important to finish well, because it’s a good way to restart,” Guidetti stressed post-game. “Our aim is to rise and have the team getting better and better immediately into the next conference, and [this conference] was a good signal for us to show everyone that we face every match with the same respect for everyone.”
Images courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.