PVL Announces Inaugural Rookie Draft for Upcoming Reinforced Conference

QUEZON CITY — The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is set to conduct its first-ever rookie draft this Monday at Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao, signaling a significant milestone in the league’s expansion. The draft comes ahead of the Reinforced Conference, which begins on July 16 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, featuring 47 hopefuls vying for spots across 12 teams.

According to Philippines News Agency, ZUS Coffee, formerly known as Strong Group, holds the coveted first pick of the draft. The team is reportedly set to select middle blocker Thea Allison Gagate as the top pick, a decision supported by coach Jerry Yee at the recent PVL Draft Combine. “I think we all agreed that the first name we wanted is Thea,” Yee stated. The subsequent picks see Capital1 aiming to strengthen their wing spiker position, while Galeries Tower looks to bolster their roster with a middle player, an outside spiker, and a third setter.

The draft order will continue with Farm Fresh selecting fourth, followed by Nxled, Akari, Cignal, PLDT, Chery Tiggo, Petro Gazz, Choco Mucho, and Creamline, in that order. Each team will follow this sequence in subsequent rounds until all selections are made or teams pass on their picks. Kiara Cruz, team manager for Farm Fresh, expressed both gratitude and uncertainty about their fourth pick, given the strong talent pool, indicating intense discussions with upper management are imminent.

The Reinforced Conference will introduce a new format, dividing the 12 teams into two pools based on their performance in the All-Filipino Conference. Creamline leads Pool A as champions, with teams like Chery Tiggo and Farm Fresh among others. Reigning Reinforced champion Petro Gazz heads Pool B, which includes teams such as Akari and Capital1.

The competition will feature a preliminary phase with two stages: a single round-robin within each pool followed by cross-pool matches that will pit the top three teams from each pool against the bottom three of the opposite pool. The top eight teams from these preliminaries will move on to knockout quarterfinals, with the semifinals and finals decided in do-or-die matches, culminating in a winner-take-all final for the championship while the remaining teams compete for bronze.