Oleksandra Bytsenko Leads Capital1 to Comeback Win Over Galeries Tower in PVL

MANILA — Capital1 secured a hard-fought victory over Galeries Tower with a final score of 12-25, 29-27, 25-19, 25-18 in the PVL Reinforced Conference at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday.

Ukrainian import Oleksandra Bytsenko spearheaded Capital1’s offense, delivering an impressive 35 points to power the Solar Spikers’ comeback. Bytsenko teamed up effectively with Bella Belen and Sydney Mae Niegos, helping Capital1 overturn an early deficit.

After losing the first set, Capital1 rallied in the second, turning a 21-24 disadvantage into a nail-biting 29-27 win. The Solar Spikers then took control of the third and fourth sets, closing out the match after nearly two hours of play.

Belen contributed 14 points, including 12 kills, while Niegos added seven points featuring four blocks and an ace. Capital1 ended the preliminary round with a balanced 4-4 record, moving up to seventh place in the rankings.

Setter Yandoc, who earned her first Best Player of the Game award, credited her teammates for their trust, saying, "My teammates just trusted me. They said they would find a way as long as I just gave them the ball." She orchestrated Capital1’s offense with 19 accurate sets.

Galeries Tower’s top performers included Jelena Cvijovic with 18 points, France Ronquillo with 17, Jean Asis with 12, and Ysabel Jamie Jimenez with 11.