Tia Andaya’s PVL debut was pushed back to a later date as she and other Filipino-foreigners await the release of their International Transfer Certificates (ITCs) to play in the Reinforced Conference without a hitch.
Like the imports who were supposed to strut their stuff in Tuesday’s opening doubleheader at Ynares Center Montalban, Andaya was also forced to sit out Choco Mucho’s game against Capital1 to avoid risking her federation transfer from USA Volleyball to the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF).
Technically, Andaya is allowed to play in the PVL, which only requires Fil-foreign players to secure a Philippine passport to be eligible to suit up. But playing without an ITC puts her allegiance switch in peril.
‘It hasn’t been signed yet. Because you can get sanctioned by the FIVB, so I don’t want to jeopardize it with the FIVB,’ said Andaya, the seventh overall pick by the Flying Titans in the 2025 PVL Draft last June.
Petro Gazz’s Fil-American duo of Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips as well as PLDT star Savi Davision, who is Fil-Canadian, are in the same predicament as Andaya.
Van Sickle, Phillips and Davison, who have been thriving in the pioneering pro volleyball league for the past several years, are still waiting for their ITCs for this conference. They too are eyeing to be eligible to be part of Alas Pilipinas.
In a statement Tuesday, the PVL slammed the PNVF for the alleged ‘refusal to endorse the International Transfer Certificates (ITCs).’
ZUS Coffee and Akari were forced to go all Filipino in the Reinforced Conference curtain raiser with the Thunderbelles rallying past the Chargers in five sets behind Riza Nogales.
Choco Mucho and Capital1 were also left with no choice but to bench imports Marlee Smith and Oleksandra Bytsenko, respectively, in the second game won by the Flying Titans in a hard-earned sweep.