Veterans find new homes

Seasoned veterans Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Aby Marano found new homes for the upcoming Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference starting 31 January.

Maizo-Pontillas will be seeing action for Galeries Tower while Marano will man the middle of Nxled following the decision of their respective teams, Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo, to skip the upcoming season-opening conference.

The Highrisers made the announcement, welcoming the former University of Santo Tomas (UST) star who will definitely provide leadership and veteran stability to their young — but fighting — squad.

Galeries Tower had launched a very aggressive buildup for the upcoming PVL wars.

In fact, they tapped former UST coaches Clarence Esteban and John Abella and signed wingers Erika Raagas, Lycha Ebon, Cams Victoria, Maji Mangulabnan, Venice Puzon, Gayle Pascual, Jules Samonte and Erika Deloria while bringing in defense specialists BLove Barbon, Juju Angeles and Dolly Versoza.

They will join holdovers top setter Julia Coronel and middle blockers Jean Asis, Winnie Bedana and Roselle Baliton.

It’s going to be the 37-year-old Maizo-Pontillas’ third PVL team after playing for Sta. Lucia and Petro Gazz, where she won three titles before the squad decided to take a leave of absence.

But her legacy was forged at UST, which she steered to a pair of University Athletic Association of the Philippines titles and five Shakey’s V-League championships.

On the same note, the Chameleons also landed a gem in Marano, one of the league’s best blockers.

The 33-year-old former national team captain will also be coming in overflowing with experience after playing for a handful of commercial teams like F2 Logistics, Petron, Foton before joining the Crossovers in the PVL.

Unfortunately for her, her stint with Chery Tiggo didn’t last long as it decided to disband following a forgettable 2025 season.