Premier Volleyball League holds first-ever Rookie Draft

As the league grows, so do the amount of historic accolades for the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), which held its first-ever Rookie Draft last night at the Novotel Manila Araneta City. 

PVL has grown in popularity due to its competitive matches, excellent players, and dedicated fan base. There is no other way to maintain this trend than by holding the league’s inaugural Rookie Draft. 

Before the highly anticipated draft night, the league hosted a Rookie Draft Combine to allow the 47 draft hopefuls and 11 free agents to demonstrate their abilities in a series of scrimmages and impress organizations.

However, one university dominated the selection board in the first four picks, and it was none other than the famous Ramil De Jesus’ De La Salle University Lady Spikers players.

La Salle dominance

Thea Gagate, DLSU’s 6-foot-2 middle blocker, led the inaugural draft and is now headed to ZUS Coffee as the first-ever number one overall pick of the historic draft night.

“Of course, I’m very grateful and honored na ako yung first pick nila. Na-appreciate ko na na-appreciate nila yung efforts ko as an athlete. I just hope na they’ll trust me and l’ll do my best to lift the team and put their rank up,” shared by Gagate.

Photo Courtesy: Premier Volleyball League | Facebook

Another blue chip draftee from the Lady Spikers is Leila Cruz, who was Capital1’s second overall pick. This marks her return to the court following an ACL tear that prevented her from competing in UAAP Season 86. 

Meanwhile, Julia Coronel, a familiar figure from the La Salle roster, was selected by the Galeries Tower as the third overall pick in the highly anticipated draft. 

This was followed by another Lady Spiker, outside hitter Maicah Larroza, who was selected fourth overall and will join the Farm Fresh.

The rise of volleyball in PH

PVL is widely regarded as the Philippines’ leading women’s professional volleyball league. The league was founded in 2004 as the Shakey’s V-League, a women’s collegiate competition. 

The league changed its name to the Premier Volleyball League in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, business clubs and other non-collegiate teams were welcome to join the league. 

Photo Courtesy: Premier Volleyball League | Facebook

The league’s status then changed to professional in 2021, demonstrating how quickly the league evolved throughout that time period. 

Last year, the PVL packed Araneta Coliseum with a record-breaking 24,459 fans for the Creamline-Choco Mucho finals, demonstrating how the support for the volleyball community has grown throughout the country.

PVL will return to action for the Reinforced Conference on July 16 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. The fans may expect nonstop action, with imports assisting each squad for a more intense lineup.