The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) will further push back the grand opening of the country’s first ever professional volleyball league.

According to PVL president Ricky Palou, the teams need more time to practice after their scheduled trainings were disrupted by the surge of COVID-19 cases in “NCR Plus.”

“We have agreed to move the PVL opening to either last week of June or the first week of July,” said Palou.

“We decided to do this to give ample time for the teams to train as a team, as the training… was disrupted when the government agencies agreed to place NCR, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, and Bulacan under ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) and now MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine).”

Despite the shift to MECQ in “NCR Plus,” group practices and scrimmages are still not allowed as per the joint administrative order (JAO) crafted by the PSC, Games and Amusements Board (GAB), and the Department of Health (DOH).

Palou also bared that the league is also looking at other provinces like Subic as host of the tournament in case Laguna is still under MECQ by then.

The Open Conference was slated to open in May given that the addition of teams like Philippine Superliga (PSL) powerhouse F2 Logistics made a move to the PVL to make it a 12-team professional league.

Before the league turned professional in November 2020, the Creamline Cool Smashers have copped 3 conference titles, led by national team stalwarts Alyssa Valdez, Jia Morado, and Jema Galanza. – Rappler.com