Newbies SGA, Capital1 tackle separate rivals in PVL opening
At A Glance
- The season-opening conference will feature a 12-team field with newcomers Strong Group Athletics and Capital1 out to raise the curtain on opening day when they tackle separate dangerous rivals.
Intense women’s volleyball action returns to centerstage when the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference unfolds on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The season-opening conference will feature a 12-team field with newcomers Strong Group Athletics and Capital1 out to raise the curtain on opening day when they tackle separate dangerous rivals.
The SGA spikers will be put to test early when they clash with the Petro Gazz Angels at 4 p.m., while the Solar Spikers hope to make an early impact in their 6 p.m. tussle with the Chery Tiggo Crossovers.
Little is known about the SGA at the moment, while Capital1 parades a veteran coach in Roger Gorayeb.
“Hopefully, maganda yung maging simula namin,” said Gorayeb in Wednesday’s press briefing. “Yung team namin mix of experienced, mga batang players at saka height. Sana in the near future maging, title contenders pero if possible, we hope na maka-pull off kami ng surprises at miracles.”
Creamline headlines the strong team cast as it eyes to defend its title for an unprecedented eighth overall crown, but it was easier said than done as far as Cool Smashers coach Sherwin Meneses and skipper Alyssa Valdez are concerned.
“Yung ibang team, talagang nagpalakas. So kami naman, step by step muna kami,” said Meneses of his squad, who has also acquired veterans Bea De Leon and Denden Revilla to sister team Choco Mucho.
“In practice naman, we’ve been working hard and looking for more strategies for the upcoming season. But I think it’s always harder to defend the crown. It’s hard to be consistent, but hopefully, we reach our goals this year,” Valdez said.
Completing this conference’s team cast are Akari, Choco Mucho, Cignal, Farm Fresh, Galeries Tower, Nxled and PLDT.
Matches will be played every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in a single elimination format, where the Top 4 teams will advance to round-robin semifinals. The battle for third place and the championship will be contested in a best-of-three format.