PVL mulls All-Filipino opening tilt

The Premier Volleyball League is leaning towards staging another All-Filipino Conference for its season-opening tournament.

PVL president Ricky Palou told DAILY TRIBUNE that with just a little over a month before the league's scheduled 17 February opening, holding the return of an import-flavored Reinforced Conference might not be feasible given the time constraint.

"We're inclined to hold an All-Filipino. Teams are telling us that they find it difficult to recruit (foreign players) because the good ones are unavailable or already have contracts playing in other leagues abroad," Palou said.

The official also acknowledged that member clubs might not have enough time to process the foreign players' papers including the all-important international transfer certificate to get the go-signal to play in the country.

"Also even if they do get imports, they'll just play for just a couple of months. Looks like we're inclined to have an All-Filipino Conference again to open the season," Palou said.

The PVL last season held two AFC tournaments along with the mid-season Invitational Conference.

The league was forced to drop the Reinforced Conference last year after the Philippine National Volleyball Federation barred the processing of ITCs citing that the PVL staged tournaments inside the FIVB National Team window running from May to October.

Despite the setback, the PVL marked its most successful season yet including a record-setting feat.

Powerhouse Creamline won the two editions of the AFC. The Cool Smashers marquee season was highlighted by a historic title series against sister team Choco Mucho.

A total of 24,459-strong crowd, the biggest in local volleyball history, packed the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Game 2 to witness Creamline completing a tournament sweep for its seventh title overall.