The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is taking a careful approach in accepting parties expressing interest in joining, following a couple of withdrawals in recent months.

From a 12-team field, the league is down to 10 clubs followng the disbandment of Chery Tiggo last December and the decision of four-time champion Petro Gazz to take a leave of absence just weeks before the opening of the 2026 All-Filipino Conference.

PVL president Ricky Palou told DAILY TRIBUNE that there are companies actively pursuing to join the country’s first and only women’s professional league. 

However, the PVL will be more stringent in accepting newcomers.      

“Some companies have expressed interest in joining. But we want to check first if they already have a team. We can’t just accept them without checking if they are capable of maintaining and operating a team,” Palou said.

“We want to know first if they’re in for the long term. We don’t want to see teams come and then leave just after one year.”

The league will proceed with the year-opening tournament starting 31 January without the defending champion Angels, who, after weeks of speculation, announced on Saturday that they will take a leave of absence after a seven-year run.

A merger plan between Petro Gazz and Nxled had been rejected by the league, citing parity and fairness. The Angels management, however, proceeded with a joint venture by dissolving the squad and eventually backing the Chameleons as one of their sponsors.    

Petro Gazz has already released its players in the free agency. Some have already signed with other teams, while most have yet to reach a deal with new clubs.

Chery Tiggo, which won the 2021 Open Conference as the first-ever PVL champion as a pro league, disbanded after the 2025 Reinforced Conference.

The league, since turning pro, has seen several clubs take a leave: Sta. Lucia and Perlas in 2021, BaliPure (2022), Philippine Army (2023), Gerflor (2023) and F2 Logistics (2023).

Palou said the league’s door remains open for the teams that left in case they decide to return. 

“But if we come up with the maximum of 12 teams before their return, then we cannot accommodate them anymore,” he said.  

In the case of Petro Gazz, it did not specify any timeline for its possible return.

“It’s open-ended. They just told us they’re taking a leave of absence, but did not specify how long,” Palou said. 

Palou added that the PVL is coming up with guidelines in case a team takes a leave of absence in the future.

“We’re coming up with guidelines so that if you’re planning to withdraw from the league or file a leave of absence, we need to know at least a month ahead of time. That way, we can disseminate the information to other teams so they can start looking around if they are interested in having the players of this certain team,” he said.