The Premier Volleyball League will push back the start of the Invitational Conference late next month to give way to the Philippine women’s national team’s participation in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup in Indonesia.
Sports Vision, organizer of the country’s first and only professional women’s volleyball club league, has decided to kick off the mid-season tournament on 29 June instead of the original plan of 6 June to allow the Nationals, composed of PVL stars, for another tour of duty.
National team commission head Tonyboy Liao told Daily Tribune that the league adjusted its calendar to show PVL’s full commitment to supporting the national team’s cause in the Challenge Cup scheduled to run from 18 to 25 June.
The Nationals will parade the same lineup that participated in the recently-concluded 32nd Southeast Asian Games where the Filipinas finished fourth.
“The national team that played in the SEA Games will participate in the AVC Challenge Cup in Indonesia from June 18 to 25,” Liao said.
“That’s why the PVL Invitational will start on June 29 instead of June 6 to give way to the national team players playing with PVL club teams,” added Liao, who is also the PVL’s tournament director.
This will be the first time for the Philippines to participate in the tournament for low-ranked women’s squads of AVC member nations.
Last year, PVL powerhouse team Creamline heeded the call to represent the country in two major international tournaments, the AVC Asian Cup for Women hosted by the Philippines and the ASEAN Grand Prix held in Thailand.
To ensure a competitive team in the SEA Games held in Phnom Penh, the PVL loaned its players once again for an all-pro national team but fell short in ending an 18-year podium drought since winning bronze in the 2005 edition staged in Bacolod.
Back for another national team stint are seven Creamline players led by skipper Alyssa Valdez, who made her fifth straight SEA Games cap, along with setter Jia Morado-de Guzman, Ced Domingo, Jema Galanza, Tots Carlos, Michele Gumabao and libero Kyla Atienza.
Also returning for the tricolor are Chery Tiggo’s Mylene Paat, Gel Cayuna and Chai Troncoso of Cignal, Dell Palomata of PLDT, and Choco Mucho’s Cherry Nunag and Kat Tolentino and Akari’s Bang Pineda.
Meanwhile, the men’s national team will also play in the AVC Men’s Challenge Cup that will be hosted by Chinese-Taipei from 7 to 14 July.
The Filipino spikers finished fifth in the biennial meet, missing the second straight SEA Games podium since clinching silver in 2019.
