Kobe Shinwa Women’s University and the Taipei Kung Whales are expected to see action in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference, which unfolds on July 2.
The Kobe Shinwa Women’s University is a collegiate squad from Japan who had previously competed in the country back in 2017, while the Taipei King Whales is a top team in the Taiwan Volleyball League.
However, the two teams will only get to see action in the semifinal round starting Aug. 29.
Seven local teams led by PVL Open Conference champion will be competing after F2 Logistics and Balipure have begged off from participating for team reasons.
Competing cast aside from Creamline are Petro Gazz, Chery Tiggo, Cignal, Choco Mucho, Army Black Mamba and PLDT.
The seven teams will fight a round-robin elimination for the four semifinal berths and a chance to play against the two guest teams.
All squads will be ranked using the FIVB Ranking System with the top four moving to the next phase.
"It is our continuing commitment to raise the level of local volleyball and the presence of the Japan and Taiwan squads will surely help toughen up the competition and improve the quality of play," said Sports Vision president Ricky Palou.
The league, meanwhile, will take a break in the middle of the semis from July 11 to Aug. 20 to give way to the Philippine Women's National Volleyball Team training in preparation for the AVC (Asian Women's Volleyball Cup) 2022 on Aug. 21-28.
The local teams will first play among each other in the semis before the break with matches to resume on Aug. 29 with the foreign teams testing the local squads' mettle.