Capital1 Solar Energy’s vision and long-term commitment were enough to get the nod as the newest member of the Premier Volleyball League for the coming 2024 season beginning 20 February.
Out of the four parties that expressed interest in joining the country’s first and only professional women’s volleyball league, it was the sisters Milka and Mandy Romero’s company that was awarded the slot left by the disbanded F2 Logistics.
“We interviewed about four entities. We interviewed all of them and we looked at what their vision was, what their purpose was gonna be,” PVL president Ricky Palou said during the Power Spikers’ formal launch on Thursday.
The league, celebrating its 20th anniversary as the trailblazer in the sports’ commercial scene, saw Capital1’s dedication to building its franchise into one of the PVL’s competitive clubs in the years to come.
After F2 Logistics announced its withdrawal to shift its focus to a grassroots program, a DAILY TRIBUNE source revealed that a Japanese firm, a burger joint, a group under business tycoon Enrique Razon along with Capital1 sat down with the PVL to lay down their plans to join.
“We felt that Capital1 is the one who is there to stay for the long term and eventually build up its team to be competitive,” Palou said.
Capital1 tapped multi-titled mentor Roger Gorayeb to handle the squad in his return to pro volleyball after a three-year hiatus.
After signing a deal to take the reins of the Power Spikers, he called for a two-day tryout.
About 23 players got into the list of the team’s pool with veterans Heather Guino-o, Aiko Urdas, Jorelle Singh, Rovie Instrella and Jannine Navarro as shoo-ins. The list will be trimmed down to 20.
The PVL has set a deadline for the submission of team rosters on Friday next week.
The Romero sisters dipping their hands into the club volleyball scene marked the entry of a second generation Romero into managing a ballclub.
They are now following in the footsteps of their father successful basketball team owner and sportsman Mikee Romero. The former congressman is known for building a dynasty in the defunct Philippine Basketball League with seven-time champion Harbour Centre.
Romero is also the owner of Northport Batang Pier in the Philippine Basketball Association.
“When I saw on social media that the 12th team was the team of Cong. (Mikee) Romero, I didn’t really have any doubts that they made the right choice because knowing Mikee Romero, who was a former manager of De La Salle women’s teams and basketball teams in the PBA, it really surprised me that a basketball person is now going to volleyball which will be very good for us. It’s a very good support for PVL since Congressman (Romero) is a sportsman,” PVL chairman Tonyboy Liao said.
“I met the two daughters (Milka and Mandy) who are also sports-minded so really no doubt that Ricky Palou chose the right entity as the 12th team.”
Gorayeb admitted that the Power Spikers have limited time to prepare with just three weeks left before the season-opening All-Filipino Conference hostilities erupt.
But the mentor, who last won a PVL crown back in 2017 when he steered BaliPure to an Open Conference championship, vowed that Capital1 will give other established club’s a run for their money.
“If you will remember, even before when I was still handling Ateneo, I started with just five players. Then you know how Ateneo improved and eventually got on top,” the former national team mentor said.
“If you will remember, Balipure, I assembled my players from Baste (San Sebastian College-Recoletos). What happened? In our first year, we got into the finals kami, then we became champions in the All-Filipino. I’ll bring that experience to this team,” he added.
“I do not promise that the team will immediately achieve something big. We’ll do it slowly.”
Palou, who has worked with Gorayeb before when he was Ateneo’s athletic director, expressed his faith in the tactician’s capability.
“It’s not gonna be easy to build up a competitive team in so short a time. But I know Roger and I know how he pushes his players to improve all the time. I’m pretty confident that in a year or two, they’ll be one of the top teams in the PVL,” he said.
