Nxled breathed life into its struggling Premier Volleyball League campaign, upending Akari, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-16, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday night, Nov. 14, in an emotional victory that kept the Chameleons' flickering hopes alive in the All-Filipino Conference.

May Luna landed in tears after delivering the final blow on the Chargers’ comeback bid in the fourth, letting out all her emotions while grappling with personal grief over the recent passing of her mother.

Luna, who had been hesitant to join practices due to her emotional state, became a crucial part in the team’s victory, Nxled’s second after a near one-month spell marred by five consecutive defeats.

Coach Taka Minowa also faced a difficult decision in fielding her but was nevertheless impressed with her performance in the team’s last practice, leading to her inclusion in rotation throughout the two-hour encounter.

“Actually, it’s kind of a difficult decision using May (Luna) inside the court because she’s been crying every time after (her mom died). It’s very sad for us but after she found out, she cannot join the practices. That’s why we’re still (unsure about) using her but she practiced the last time and she’s very good that’s why we used her.”

He also attributed the Chargers’ lack of competitive fire to the Chameleons’ determination to win.

“It looks like Akari's players doesn't have the confidence. Also, Nxled players came from Akari before, they doesn't have the confidence but today (yesterday), it's our players played kind of different because they want to win against Akari,” added Minowa, whose wards swept the Gerflor Defenders in their league debut last Oct. 15.

But the long spell finally ended for Nxled following a hard-earned victory over its mother team, keeping the momentum of its escape in a wild finish in the swing set capped by Camille Victoria’s opposite attack that hit the arms of Akari defenders and bounced off the court.

Yielding just one point in spiking battle, 53-54, and two in blocks, 6-8, the Chameleons pounced on the Chargers’ wobbly service reception that saw them deliver eight aces while yielding just two of their own.

More importantly, they cashed in on their more seasoned rivals’ miscues, picking up 30 points, 13 more than they had yielded.

Luna finished with 14 points, Jho Maraguinot stepped up to fire 13 markers, including 12 on attacks, Lycha Ebon banged in 12 points and Victoria added 11 markers with Kamille Cal and Krich Macaslang’s pair of eight-point outputs further underscoring the balanced scoring for Japanese coach Taka Minowa.

Cal later clinched the best player of the game honors with 28 excellent sets.

"We anchored our game on blocks. With the help of our coaches, we were able to read their attacks," said Cal. "Coach (Taka) just let us play and we just trusted each other in attacks, sets and blocks."

Dindin Manabat topscored for Akari with 18 points while Faith Nisperos scored 11 markers, Joy Soyud added nine points, Fifi Sharma chipped in seven points and Ezra Madrigal and Erika Raagas posted six points apiece for Akari, which failed to recover from that third set defeat and struggled majority of the fourth.

The loss also stalled Chargers’ own semis drive at 3-4 heading to the crucial stretch of the single round robin elims in the season-ending conference organized by Sports Vision.