The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) will likely make its professional debut with 7 teams in a bubble setup at the National University (NU) Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.

PVL’s 5 teams – three-time champion Creamline, Choco Mucho, Petro Gazz, BanKo Perlas, and Balipure/Chef’s Classics – will be returning to volleyball action as professional squads.

The league’s sixth club Motolite will be sitting out this season.

According to Sports Vision Management Group president Ricky Palou, two more teams have confirmed their participation, but the league will not make an announcement just yet as the total number of teams haven’t been finalized.

The PVL is on track of its plan to open its first professional season on April 10 as the league has also secured a new broadcaster after the shutdown of ABS-CBN Sports last August 2020.

“We already have a broadcaster, but we’ll wait for the broadcaster to make the announcement,” said Palou.

The PVL has spoken to GMA and TV5 regarding the broadcast deal.

PVL officially became the country’s first professional volleyball tournament last November even after the three-conference commercial league got shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league, organized by Sports Vision, is also one of the main stakeholders in the upcoming Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)-supervised elections of the local national sports association (NSA).

Palou told Rappler that he would likely run for a seat in the local federation that is set to unify the warring factions of Philippine volleyball that led to the creation of “rival leagues” PVL and the Philippine Superliga.

“Honestly, I would like to help in the development of the sport of volleyball in the Philippines and the best way to do this is to be involved in NSA affairs. So yes, I will probably run for seat on the board. Whether I win is really up to the majority of the stakeholders,” said Palou.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino stressed that the failure to hold the formal election immediately will be detrimental to the country’s participation in FIVB tournaments.

Since the league officially took over the Shakey’s V-League in 2017, the Creamline Cool Smashers have copped 3 conference titles, led by national team stalwarts Alyssa Valdez, Jia Morado and Jema Galanza.

Valdez last played professionally with Thai team Nakornnonthaburi Volleyball Club in 2016 after she graduated from Ateneo. – Rappler.com