FROM 12 to 10 teams, a new format and a completely different atmosphere awaits the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) when it closes the season with the All-Filipino Conference (AFC) to be launched on Saturday.
With defending champion Petro Gazz out on indefinite leave and Chery Tiggo leaving, it will now be up to the remaining clubs to fight for the biggest, toughest and most prestigious conference of all – the AFC.
Nxled, after getting a bunch of that Angels franchise that won it all in this conference last year, should be one of the favorites for the title along with powerful teams like Creamline who holds 10 times and PLDT, last year’s PVL in the Tour and Invitational titlist.
The Chameleons will feature Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips, Myla Pablo, Jonah Sabete, Jules Tolentino and Bang Pineda from Petro Gazz, Aby Maraño from Chery Tiggo and Aduke Ogunsanya from Choco Mucho.
“It’s going to be a good challenge,” said Nxled coach Ettore Guidetti of the team’s scheduling logjam.
For the Cool Smashers, they must be strong players to regain the title they last won two years ago, especially since Jia de Guzman has returned after a three-year hiatus and another returnee in Bernadeth Pons.
Mrs. De Guzman was in Japan and was with Alas Pilipinas during his long absence while Ms. Pons with the beach volleyball team that won gold at the Thailand SEA Games last December.
“I am very happy with the way PVL has changed and I can really look forward to that challenge,” said Ms. De Guzman.
In the High Speed Hitters, they decided to keep the core that won them two titles last season and chose only one center, Seth Rodriguez, who will temporarily fill the void left by Dell Palomata, who will be out of the country for at least a little more than a month.
“We rely on our chemicals,” said PLDT CEO Bajjie del Rosario.
Choco Mucho should be another team to watch after getting the biggest free agent in the market in Eya Laure and getting Sisi Rondina, like Ms. Pons, who was part of that golden team in Thailand.
Teams like Farm Fresh, ZUS Coffee, Galleries Tower have also made free agents and should be contenders.
Akari and Cignal, like PLDT, have also kept their core and should be somewhere in the standings.
The league opens on Saturday at the Filoil Arena with Galleries Tower taking on Cignal at 4pm and Akari facing Choco Mucho at 6:30pm.
Under the new system, the team that sweeps one of the round-robin eliminations earns a place in the semifinals.
Otherwise, the top four teams will play each other in the Qualifying Round, with the winners advancing to the next round. Losing teams are not eliminated immediately.
Instead, they enter the newly introduced Play-In Stepladder – another first for the league – where teams are ranked fifth out of 10.th you got a second chance to stay alive.
This Play-In format adds an extra layer of drama and unpredictability, ensuring that no game is meaningless and that the latest surge can still rewrite the team’s fate. Rankings for all releases and beyond will be determined using the FIVB Team Classification System, which accounts for wins, standings, and points averages, ensuring fairness and consistency.
The semis will be contested in a single round-robin format, and the FIVB system is used to rank the teams. From there, the top two will fight for the championship in a best-of-three Finals series at the Araneta Coliseum, with Sports Vision planning for the April 28 finale.
PVL Notes: The Philippine National Volleyball Federation, with the help of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, will host Week 2 of the Women’s Volleyball Nations League from June 17 to 21 featuring Japan, Italy, United States, Serbia, Dominican Republic and Czechia. – Joey Villar
