Michele Gumabao claims PVL Invitational Conference MVP

In her seventh season with the Premier Volleyball League, Michele Gumabao has finally earned her place among the stars by winning the 2024 Invitational Conference Most Valuable Player award.

The 5-foot-9 opposite spiker, who has also served as the team’s interim captain for the past two conferences, showcased her impressive ability to deliver high performance while remaining one of the most efficient hitters in the league.

Gumabao, a three-time PVL Best Opposite Spiker awardee, emerged as the top local scorer in the week-long tournament, accumulating 59 points from 52 attacks, four aces, and three blocks.

Her efficiency was particularly noteworthy, as she achieved a 37.96 percent success rate, ranking second in the league. Additionally, she placed fourth in service with an average of 0.29 aces per set.

Gumabao led the Cool Smashers to the Invitational championship, completing the much-coveted Grand Slam—the first ever in the country’s only professional volleyball league.

Despite her efforts, Gumabao’s team fell short in the gold medal match against Cignal, though they had swept the preliminary round with a perfect four-game record.

In the Invitational Conference, where local teams competed alongside imports, there was no award for Best Foreign Guest Player. However, foreign players were eligible to be named to the Premier Team. As a result, Cignal’s MJ Perez and Creamline’s Erica Staunton were recognized as the Best Outside Spikers.

Perez, the HD Spikers’ Venezuelan reinforcement, led the league in scoring with 115 points, a 35.02 percent efficiency, and was second in blocks with 0.60 per set.

Staunton, the Cool Smashers’ American import, followed with 61 points and a 36.24 percent efficiency, ranking third in the league.

Jackie Acuña of Cignal and Low Mei Cing, also known as Maggie, from the Japanese guest team Kurashiki, were named the Best Middle Blockers.

Both towers excelled defensively, with Acuña and Maggie each recording nine blocks, the highest in the league. Maggie, a Malaysian-Taiwanese player, also scored 65 points, finishing third overall, while Acuña, a product of National University, ranked third among local middle blockers with 23 points.

Saya Taniguchi of Kurashiki was honored as the Best Opposite Spiker, scoring 51 points on a 34.48 percent efficiency, placing seventh overall in the league.

Creamline’s Kyle Negrito and Thai guest team Est Cola's Kalyarat Khamwong rounded out the awardees.

Negrito, awarded Best Setter for the second time in three conferences, was second in the league with 5.29 excellent sets per frame, just behind Kurashiki’s Kyoka Ohshima. Negrito also led in service with 12 aces, averaging 0.86 per set, and ranked eighth in blocks and 19th in scoring with 22 points.

Khamwong earned the Best Libero title, finishing fifth in digging with 2.53 per set and making it into the Top 10 in receptions.