PVL served a heated opening day for fans

THE Premier Volleyball League (PVL), the country’s best volleyball league, served fans a hot triple header on opening day with the Reinforced Conference on Tuesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City. 

Despite the presence of imports at the midseason conference, the focus remains on each team’s local talent. Furthermore, the first-ever PVL draft class will make their respective debut games.

Photo Courtesy: Premier Volleyball League

This was the first return of the enhanced conference, which was last contested in 2022, and Petro Gazz won the title following a great run. 

Meanwhile, league commissioner Sherwin Malonzo outlined how the imports will be changed following a controversy involving Nxled and Galeries Tower, both of which had two imports on their bench.

“Our rules state you can’t change imports unless two things happen. Number one, if the player gets injured during the conference, or number two, if there’s an abandonment of commitment,” he explained.

“Those are the only two reasons they can make a change. They can’t replace an import just because they found someone better,” explained Malonzo.

Triple-header

The hostilities began after Nxled defeated Galeries Tower in a five-setter match. Megan Hart led Nxled with 19 points, 12 attacks, and seven blocks, while Chiara Permentilla contributed 14 points. 

In the second game of the day, Chery Tiggo defeated Farm Fresh in straight sets. Khat Bell scored a game-high 23 points on 22 attacks and one block. 

Photo Courtesy: Premier Volleyball League

The much-anticipated main match followed, with the undermanned reigning champions, Creamline Cool Smashers, suffering a stunning loss to the PLDT High Speed Hitters.

In a late-night encounter against the much fancied Creamline, PLDT emerged victorious in five sets. Lena Samoilenko made an impressive debut, scoring a career-high 35 points.

It’s back

The fans weren’t able to contain their excitement with the return of the tournament. They went to X (Formerly Twitter) to share some clips and their favorite players who saw action.

As expected, the fan favorite Creamline were the ones who received praises after their impressive game despite losing against PLDT.

“Last conference lahat ng pagdududa ko inubos ng ccs to the point pati semis to finals kala mo di makakapasok kaya HALER NGAYON PA BA AKO MAGDUDUDA ULI NEVER NA KUNDI ENJOY WATCHING AND TIWALA LANG SA KANILA HAHAHAHAH,” a netizen said. 

“Grabe yung Creamline. Wala na ngang Valdez, Carlos, at De Guzman, tapos limited minutes pa si Galanza pero 5 sets pa rin vs a complete and reinforced PLDT. Iba talaga pag may maayos na system yung team,” another netizen said.

The action will return on Thursday when Petro Gazz faces the number one overall pick Thea Gagate’s Zus. Followed by Akari and Capital1, and Cignal versus Choco Mucho as the main event.