THE Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference is set for a high-intensity, action-packed run crammed into just eight weeks to accommodate Alas Pilipinas’s participation in the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.
The import-laden tournament kicks off on Tuesday with the league using its streamlined Reinforced Conference format-the 12 teams are divided into two pools and will play a single round-robin within their groups and the top three teams from each pool will advance to the second round and face off only against the bottom three squads from the opposite group.
Rankings will follow the FIVB classification system based on total wins, match points, set ratio and point ratio.
At the end of the second round, all 12 teams will be re-ranked from 1 to 12 and the bottom four will be eliminated, and the top eight will advance to the quarterfinals, which will follow a 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, and 4 vs 5 knockout format.
The semifinals, championship and bronze medal matches will also be one-game encounters.
Fresh off a dominant preseason, PLDT is aiming to complete a rare triple crown after sweeping both the PVL on Tour and the Invitational Conference.
Led by Russian ace Anastasiia Bavykina, the High Speed Hitters boast a stacked roster and are gunning to finish the year with a perfect record.
PVL president Ricky Palou expressed optimism for another unforgettable conference during Thursday’s press conference of the import-laced conference-backed by Milcu, Fabriano Appliances, Mikasa and International Container Terminal Services Inc.-at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas.
‘We’re looking forward to a very exciting conference,’ Palou said. ‘It’s going to be more competitive than usual because it’s Reinforced-we still have to see the caliber and skills of the imports. Whoever wins the championship, it’s anybody’s game.’
Creamline will look to bounce back with American spiker Courtney Schwan, seeking to defend its title, while Petro Gazz returns with a proven weapon in Lindsey Vander Weide, a key figure in their 2022 championship run.
Galeries Tower has signed former Chery Tiggo import Jelena Cvijovic of Montenegro, Nxled will lean on Spanish standout Paola Martinez Vela, Akari welcomes American Annie Mitchem, while Capital1 brings in Ukrainian Oleksandra Bytsenko.
Chery Tiggo tapped Cuban veteran Yunieska Robles Batista, Choco Mucho will be reinforced by American Anyse Smith, Cignal will rely on Greek hitter Eva Chantava, Farm Fresh looks to make waves with Belgian Helene Rousseaux, and ZUS Coffee is banking on American spiker Anna DeBeer.