Myla Pablo determined to still be a force on her 10th season

Myla Pablo: I’m just grateful. —PVL IMAGES

When the Premier Volleyball League was launched in 2017, Myla Pablo instantly became one of its faces together with Alyssa Valdez after they split the first two MVP trophies contested.

Pablo brought Pocari Sweat’s success from the Shakey’s V-League—the PVL’s predecessor—and took the country’s first pro league to greater heights with no-nonsense play and charisma not seen in everyone.

The National University product has remained one of the most reliable spikers in the league as she starts another chapter in her career after joining the Nxled Chameleons together with the core of Petro Gazz, which she helped win the All-Filipino and Reinforced Conference titles last year.

As the PVL kicks off its 10-year anniversary with the 2026-2027 season, the 32-year-old Pablo celebrates a decade in the league that made her a successful player, as a two-time Conference MVP, four-time champion and five-time Best Outside Spiker.

“It’s really a blessing to see the PVL reach 10 years. I’ve been here since the Shakey’s days, so I’ve seen how much the league has grown,” Pablo told the Inquirer in Filipino. “It’s also nice to still see Sir Ricky Palou (PVL president), who has been part of the journey.

“I’ve been playing in the PVL for almost 10 years now, and I’m just grateful that I still have a team that trusts me and gives me the opportunity to play.”

Ten years in, but the veteran hitter continues to embrace bigger and tougher challenges, as Nxled continues to miss three-time MVP Brooke Van Sickle due to a shoulder injury in the Invitationals starting next week when the Chameleons face Creamline and the towering Jaja Santiago-Minowa on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“We’re also expecting to learn a lot from the foreign teams,” said Pablo, as she looks forward to playing against Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and Thailand’s EST Cola.

“This is another chance for us to show what we can do as a team and test how strong we are on the court,” she added. “We’ll see how our connection develops with our setters—Gel Cayuna, Juliana (Tolentino) and Djanel (Cheng)—and how we can handle the challenges against these teams.”

In the PVL on Tour, Nxled split its four preseason matches, losing its first game to Creamline and its final game to another Invitational contender, Farm Fresh.

Pablo said their team is working on their connection with Cayuna as their new main setter, while trying to reduce their lapses ahead of the Invitational.

“Our preparation really focused on the things we still need to improve on, especially our communication lapses,” she said. INQ