Philippine volleyball came back with a vengeance this year after being shelved due to the pandemic.
Record crowds at venues marked its return, as well as the staging of a full season in the Premier Volleyball League and the launching of the Shakey’s Super League.
With an aim of hosting three conferences compared to only one last year, the PVL began the season with the Open Conference last March pending restrictions brought by the pandemic. Nine teams participated in a pool play format at the Paco Arena in Manila before organizers started welcoming fans in the quarterfinal round. The Creamline Cool Smashers went on to win the title against the Petro Gazz Angels.
The Invitational Conference followed suit in July with more lenient health protocols. Seven club teams competed in the preliminaries before guest team KingWhale Taipei from Chinese Taipei joined the battle in the semifinals. Creamline continued its title pursuit and grabbed the crown at the expense of the visiting team.
The Reinforced Conference – its first in three years – ran from October to December with nine club teams flaunting with their respective imports. The Petro Gazz Angels foiled the Creamline Cool Smashers bid of a Grand Slam by winning the title.
During the conference, the Creamline-Choco Mucho match last Nov. 17 drew a record attendance of 19,157 spectators at the Mall of Asia Arena – exceeding their previous record of 16,687 fans last April 3 at the same venue.
The launching of the Shakey’s Super League last August also paved way for more avenues for volleyball players particularly in the collegiate level. The Collegiate Pre-Season tournament ran from September to November with 10 NCAA and eight UAAP teams participating. The National University Lady Bulldogs bagged the crown in a finals match against the De La Salle Lady Spikers.
Volleyball fans were also treated with intense action following the country’s hosting of several international tournaments such as the AVC Cup for Women, the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and the World Beach Volleyball Pro Tour Futures.
The Creamline Cool Smashers represented the country in the AVC Cup for Women and finished with an impressive sixth place finish with Japan capturing the title ahead of China and Japan held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Week 2 of the VNL Men and Women were also held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while the World Beach Pro Tour Futures was competed in Subic.
The hosting of the World Beach Pro Tour saw first-time partners Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga winning the historic gold medal.