Alyssa Valdez, other volleyball stars hail PVL move to go pro
MANILA, Philippines — Alyssa Valdez, the face of Philippine volleyball, recently said the decision by the Premier Volleyball League to turn professional is a milestone for the sport in the country.
“It’s a milestone for Philippine volleyball,” said Valdez, a former national team skipper, flag-bearer in the Southeast Asian Games and six-time PVL MVP who plays for Creamline, in Friday night’s online presser announcing officially PVL’s pro status.
“I believe it’s about time to go pro. This will help the players, the league and the volleyball community in the long run,” she added.
Bea de Leon of Choco Mucho, Camille Cruz of Petro Gazz and Nicole Tiamzon of BanKo Perlas, who also attended the event, echoed Valdez’s sentiments.
“We’re just very blessed to have that sense of security with the career we want, we’re very excited with this new development and we can’t wait to be in the status that gives us prestige and an additional motivation,” said de Leon.
“It’s privilege for the players right now. It’s a player’s dream to step into a pro league. We at Petro Gazz are happy for the collegiate and grassroots players because they now have somewhere to go to,” said Cruz.
“It gives us an additional title as professionals,” said Tiamzon.
Top PVL officials Ricky Palou and Tony Boy Liao attended the historic transformation along with team owners and representatives Jonathan Ng of Rebisco that owns Creamline and Choco Mucho, Ricky Chan of Motolite, Charo Soriano of BanKo Perlas and Gil Cortez of Bali Pure.
“One anecdote I can give when we asked our players about what they felt on turning pro, one said ‘Sir, I thought we’re already pros,’” said Ng.
“As what Ricky (Palou) was saying, I trust all the teams have been running their respective teams professionally. “Now that we have been invited and trusted the system, we believe that this is a step forward not only for the players, but also for the sport,” he added.
The league is expected to gain nod from the Inter-Agency Task Force and resume practice soon and will be eventually allowed to start the season by February or March at either the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna or Trace College in Los Banos also in Laguna.
- Latest
- Trending
