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| (Image Source: Manila Standard/Sports Vision) |
With the inaugural Open Conference in the books, Sports Vision is working on a better, trouble-free setting when the next conference of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) begins later this year. While the first professional volleyball event in the Philippines and PVL's first conference as the first pro volleyball league in the country was far from being ideal given the prevailing conditions and quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its staging in a "bubble" setup was par for the course with Sports Vision to build on its gains to ensure a smoother staging of the succeeding tournaments.
“We’re happy we’re able to hold it successfully,” said Sports Vision president Ricky Palou. “With God’s mercy, we survived all the challenges. Besides, all teams were very cooperative. They made sure the players were kept safe. So everything worked out well.” Palou also thanked the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, most particularly Governor Matthew Manotoc, for hosting the launch of the recently concluded Conference although it had to be moved from the Centennial Arena in Laoag City to the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center in the municipality of Bacarra due to the surge of coronavirus cases in the provincial capitol. But as the highly contagious Delta variant ushers in a new deadly wave, Sports Vision was forced to compress the five-week schedule towards the end of the elimination round to the finals in order to meet the August 16 deadline before the province is placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
The tight schedule, however, took its toll in some of the league's participating teams. Case in point, Choco Mucho Flying Titans' key player Maddie Madayag suffered a knee injury following a bad landing during Game One of their best-of-three Battle For Third series against Petro Gazz. The team skipper took to social media to express her sentiments and frustrations. “It is unfortunate that despite the intensive strengthening and training done prior to the league had to be negated all because of a rushed schedule,” said Madayag, who also sustained an ACL tear in 2016, in her post. “It pains me to have incurred such a heartbreaking injury when all I did before the competition was to take care of my body to avoid getting hurt.” Despite this, she expressed her gratitude to the league organizers and stated, “This conference was truly difficult to organize and fully plan out given the current situation of our country and I am grateful for those who made the effort so that the games would push through.”
On the other hand, Chery Tiggo Crossovers outlasted the Creamline Cool Smashers in the fifth set of their winner-take-all match in a fitting culmination to a gruelling five-week battle of not just power, blocking and floor defense but also stamina and mental toughness with the organizers revelling in the high level of competition among ten teams of varying strengths and characters. Palou cited the Crossovers' surprise loss to Balipure Water Defenders before settling down and eventually becoming the first champions of the first professional volleyball league in the country and took notice of PVL's tremendous audience pull through the live broadcast of games on One Sports, One Sports+ and Cignal Play. “There were a lot of surprises. Most games were unpredictable. We’re glad that the teams managed to stay in shape and compete very well. That’s what mattered most," he said.
