Papatchaya Phontham of EST Cola in action against Nxled in the gold medal match of the 2026 PVL Invitational Conference, September 8, 2026 at the Araneta Coliseum. PVL Media
MANILA — For the first time, the Most Valuable Player of the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference hails from the guest team.
Papatchaya Phontham of EST Cola earned the top individual honor after a superb showing this week, which she capped by leading the Thai club to the championship.
EST Cola swept the Nxled Chameleons in the gold medal match, Tuesday evening at the Araneta Coliseum. They are only the second guest team to win the tournament, after Kurashiki Ablaze's championship run in 2023.
READ: EST Cola dumps Nxled for PVL Invitational title
The 20-year-old Phontham finished second in scoring after the preliminary round with 97 points on 84 attacks, seven aces, and six blocks. She was also the league's third-most efficient spiker, converting at a 35.74 percent success rate.
She ranked fourth in service with an average of 0.37 aces per set, earning her the Best Opposite Spiker award as well.
Meanwhile, Jonah Sabete-Escamillan of Nxled and Savi Davison of PLDT were named the Best Outside Spikers.
Davison led all scorers after the preliminary round with 135 points while ranking second in spiking efficiency at 37.97 percent and sixth in blocks at 0.65 per set.
She also stood out on floor defense, ranking sixth in reception efficiency at 41.92 percent and seventh in digs at 3.00 per set.
Escamillan, meanwhile, amassed 84 points, good for fifth in the league. She also ranked fifth in both blocks at 0.65 per set and aces at 0.35 per set, while posting the third-best reception efficiency at 47.62 percent.
The award marked Davison's third selection, while Escamillan earned her first-ever All-Premier Team recognition.
Creamline's Jaja Santiago-Minowa and Nxled's MJ Phillips were named the Best Middle Blockers.
Both players also made their presence felt offensively, with Minowa scoring 92 points for third in the league and Phillips tallying 79 for seventh.
Minowa, who claimed her second positional plum, led the league with 18 blocks, while Phillips, making her third All-Premier Team appearance, recorded 14 blocks.
Rounding out the awardees were Nxled's Gel Cayuna, who won her sixth Best Setter award, and PLDT's Kath Arado, who secured her seventh Best Libero selection.
Cayuna ranked third in setting at 5.50 assists per set while also finishing 30th in scoring with 27 points.
Arado, meanwhile, dominated the digging category, leading the league with a 5.70 average per set. The second-ranked player had just a 3.43 average.