Teams allowed only 1 import for Reinforced Conference, PVL clarifies amid 'misconception'

MANILA, Philippines – There will only be one import per team. 

That was what PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo clarified during the opening day of the 2024 PVL Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena on Tuesday.

After the first two teams that played — NXLED Chameleons and the Galeries Tower Highrisers — both had two imports listed in their roster and only decided on who to play at game time, Malonzo made sure to clear the air on what teams can and can’t do.

“Nagkaroon ng misconception. Hindi sila tag-dalawang import,” Malonzo said.

It was more of a case of having to decide on who to use for the conference, with their coaching staff needing until the last minute to see who fits better into their system.

For the two teams, their initial imports did not live up to par — citing conditioning and chemistry problems during their short experience with the teams.

But after having fielded their respective imports — Meegan Hart for NXLED and Chuewulim Sutadta for Galeries Tower — in their first game, the teams have essentially locked in their choices for imports this whole tournament.

Unless they meet the league’s requirements for special cases for import replacements, they will need to stick to this choice for the rest of the conference.

“Ang rules natin [for teams], ‘di ka pwede magpalit. The only time na pwede ka magpalit is two things. Number 1 is kung na-injure yung player during the conference or Number 2, abandonment of commitment, if she suddenly disappears, goes home, ‘ayaw ko na maglaro’ or biglang nilayasan sila,” said Malonzo. 

“That’s the [only] time they can replace. ‘Di sila pwede magreplace na ‘mas magaling to kaya pinalitan namin.’ [Those] two rules lang,” he added.

The rules apply for all the teams in the conference, but with other squads still not suiting up in their conference openers, they are still technically allowed to change their minds on their reinforcements.

But once they’re fielded in an official game, there won’t be any replacements outside of the PVL’s parameters.

“Yung naglaro kanina that’s it. Yun na final touch-move kumbaga,” said Commissioner Malonzo.