PSL eyes indoor, beach volleyball resumption

Philippine Superliga (PSL) chairman Philip Ella Juico hopes professional volleyball will be among the first local sports to resume as the league eyes staging both indoor and beach volley tournaments amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Juico, also a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, said the country’s top volleyball league should be prepared to hold a tournament right after it gets the green light from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

Both professional basketball and football already got the go signal from the IATF.

“The PSL is also in touch with the Department of Health, Games, PSC, Games and Amusements Board, TV5 – the PSL’s official television coveror – and our own stakeholders so that we can easily transition into activities that would pave the wave to normality, which we are hoping would come very soon,” Juico said.

The former Cabinet member also disclosed that the PSL would likely hold a beach volleyball tournament in a tightly contained environment.

“It’s our responsibility to the public to keep them entertained with top class sports action,” Juico said. “The Philippines, aside from being a basketball country, is also a volleyball nation. We have not turned our backs on the PSL fans. We’ll be here for them.”

The PSL team owners welcomed the idea of a four-day PSL beach volleyball tournament.

Juico said all participants, league staff and crew will be required to undergo testing for COVID-19 to ensure the health and safety of everyone in the league.

“We may hold the tournament maybe in Subic, where there are hotels that could accommodate our athletes, officials and staff,” Juico said. – Rappler.com