MANILA -- The challenge is clear for the Nxled Chameleons as the Premier Volleyball League opens its 2026 All-Filipino Conference this weekend.
No team made more noise in the offseason than Nxled, after their high-profile acquisition of several players from Petro Gazz -- the reigning All-Filipino and Reinforced Conference champion that took a leave of absence from the PVL in January.
Nxled had gone winless in the Reinforced Conference, but in the past month they added the core of a championship team -- three-time Most Valuable Player Brooke Van Sickle, two-time Finals MVP MJ Phillips, and two-time MVP Myla Pablo.
READ: Nxled welcomes ex-Petro Gazz players Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, Myla Pablo
They also acquired a handful of players from Chery Tiggo, another team that exited the PVL in the offseason: Joyme Cagande, Aduke Ogunsanya and Aby Maraño.
Expectations are thus sky-high for Nxled, and all eyes will be on them when they kick off their campaign on Tuesday against Farm Fresh at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. For those who have seen how the Chameleons have prepared for the upcoming conference, however, the new challenge is one that they welcome.
"I mean, if you're asking about pressure, you know athletes eat pressure for breakfast," Nxled team manager Dzi Gervacio told ABS-CBN News at the sidelines of the PVL press conference, Wednesday in Ortigas.
She is optimistic of their prospects for the All-Filipino Conference, not just because of all the talent that they added but due to how they have come together as a group even as they only began preparing earlier this month.
"I'm glad that this new group is a culmination of two different cultures also. One has that championship experience, another has that very vibrant, high energy, and you know the will is there," she explained. "You can see it -- I've been seeing it at practices.
"They really push each other to be the best versions of themselves," she added.
In adding several new stars to their roster, Nxled also kept the members of its young core such as Lyann De Guzman and Jovelyn Fernandez. They also retained their coaching staff, led by Italian mentor Ettore Guidetti.
Gervacio noted that there is friendly competition among their players -- the newcomers and the holdovers -- during training, which she believes will work in their favor in actual games.
"I'm happy that's how they responded, and I think the fact that they respond positively is already showing of a great culture that we're building in this new team," she said.
Amid the excitement and the expectations, Gervacio also acknowledged that the way their roster was put together raised some eyebrows, particularly their acquisition of the Petro Gazz core. However, she insisted that the Angels went through the process of free agency and chose to sign with the Chameleons on their own terms.
READ: Nxled's revamp for 2026 season turns heads as AFC action looms
"Ultimately, there was a free agency na nangyari, because most, except for like three players of Petro Gazz had their contracts expiring in December," she explained. "And you know, upon offering them their contracts, it was really up to them to, whether or not, sign with us.
"So there was that moment of free agency. Their contracts expired, we offered them a contract under Nxled, and they signed," Gervacio added. "I think napasama lang 'yung itsura kasi they're one group. But if you ask them, no one forced them. It was them deciding they wanted to stick together."
What Gervacio is most concerned about now is seeing the talent they have acquired put everything together inside the court. While she has to wait until Tuesday to get her first look at their new roster in official game action, for now she is pleased with what she sees in training.
"The energy, ever since they trained together, was very good. Magaan sila panoorin," she said. "The energy is really vibrant."