Nxled Chameleons stay positive despite dropping to No. 4 in PVL Rookie Draft

The Nxled Chameleons entered the 2025 PVL Draft Lottery with the best odds of landing the first overall pick—holding a 40 percent probability—during the event held in Mandaluyong City on Monday, May 26.

However, it turned out to be a draft lottery to forget, as Nxled only managed to secure the fourth overall pick. Meanwhile, the Capital1 Solar Spikers won the opportunity to select first overall in the upcoming Rookie Draft.

Chameleons team manager Dzi Gervacio admitted that while the result was disappointing, there remains a wealth of talent to choose from—highlighting the depth of the 60-player pool—as they aim to build a roster for the future.

“This is so nerve-wracking. But I’m also happy for the other representatives. And again, before we started this whole draft night, what Commissioner Sherwin Malonzo said really resonated: we do this draft for parity, for the league to level up. Of course, it’s not so favorable for the Nxled Chameleons, but I feel like this is going to be such a deep draft batch. I’m really excited to see who ends up on the official draft list for PVL 2025,” Gervacio said in a media interaction.

“The chances—you never know what could happen. At the end of the day, we’re still at number four. I think that’s a good spot to land. This is a lottery; it’s not up to anybody’s decision. We’ve been preparing for whoever appears on the final list on June 4,” she added.

Nxled team manager Dzi Gervacio on the fourth overall pick. #PVLDraft2025 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/h2KmRNYim7

— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) May 26, 2025

Gervacio also mentioned that the team remains open to all possibilities moving forward and plans to maximize their evaluations during the Draft Combine, which takes place on Friday and Saturday at Paco Arena.

“Just to share—there was one athlete from the NCAA who joined practice one day. We weren’t even considering another middle blocker. But Coach Ettore thought she’s good, she has something to offer that we don’t currently have on our roster.

“It really depends—it’s still recruitment season. There are still a lot of free agents knocking on our doors. You never know when a name suddenly comes up, maybe someone not from the NCR or someone who hasn’t been seen on TV, and they step up at the Combine. There’s a lot of hope across all positions,” Gervacio concluded.

Meanwhile, the Galeries Tower Highrisers secured the second overall pick, while the Farm Fresh Foxies—who held only one lottery ball—landed the third pick. The ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles—who made Thea Gagate the No. 1 overall selection last year—will pick fifth, followed by the Cignal HD Spikers at sixth. The Choco Mucho Flying Titans will pick seventh after winning a tiebreaker against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers.

The PLDT High Speed Hitters will select ninth, followed by the Akari Chargers at 10th, the Petro Gazz Angels at 11th, and the Creamline Cool Smashers, who will pick 12th and last for the second consecutive season.

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