Philippine volleyball is in chaos — again.
And to no one’s surprise, the same personalities are involved: Ramon “Tats” Suzara and Tonyboy Liao.
Suzara and Liao are two of the biggest frenemies in Philippine sports. They have been here even when the sport was still being managed by the Philippine Volleyball Federation.
But soon, they drifted apart. Suzara went on to hold sensitive roles at the International Volleyball Federation until becoming president of the Asian Volleyball Confederation last year while Liao focused on turning the Shakey’s V-League (SVL), and eventually the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), into the country’s top professional league. So, in a way, both Suzara and Liao helped uplift Philippine volleyball; one internationally and the other locally.
Match made in heaven? Definitely not.
In 2013, Suzara established the Philippine Superliga (PSL) — a club league that directly competes with the SVL.
At first, everything was smooth as the SVL was accommodating student-athletes while the PSL catering to those who have already graduated. Yes, there were some friction, but everything was tolerable.
But soon, the tension that was simmering underneath blew out in the open. The PVL and the SVL tweaked their respective business models until they found themselves on a collision course. Conflicts over sponsors, players, schedule, and even the media arose, turning volleyball from being the country’s second-favorite pastime into a phony telenovela.
The war further escalated when Suzara helped in the formation of the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) in 2015. Suddenly, the PSL gained a massive advantage in its battle with the SVL as Suzara can now control everything, including the international transfer certificates of imports, selecting the members of the national team and hosting key international events.
But fate had a funny way of stopping the catfight. The PSL eventually imploded with its board members ousting Suzara. Then, the coronavirus pandemic erupted and the PSL — with Suzara no longer around — had no choice but to cease its operation, leaving the SVL as the last league standing in this bitter war of attrition.
The SVL, however, rebranded. As the lone professional league in the country, it became the PVL, which now controls the biggest sponsors and the best players in the country.
With no league to bank on, Suzara forged an unholy alliance with his rival, Liao, in forming the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) in 2021. Suzara served as the president while Liao was in charge of the national team program, making sure that power is distributed equally between these two controversial characters.
For four years, Philippine volleyball regained its glory with breakthrough finishes in the international arena and successful hosting of several big-time events. But when Liao and other PNVF board members decided to boot Suzara out of power in an election that reportedly ran up to five hours last November, the federation practically wrote its own obituary.
And now this: with the country hosting the AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup in Candon next week, Liao’s PNVF was razed to the ground with suspensions from the Philippine Sports Commission, the FIVB and, soon, the Philippine Olympic Committee.
Yes, there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics — only permanent interests. But for the sake of Philippine volleyball and its players, Liao and Suzara should sit down and to, once and for all, discuss how to reunite and move forward. We were told that a third player might enter the picture to help Suzara form a new league, but for peace to achieve, he should still talk to his old friend, Liao, to iron things out.
Well, they don’t need to like each other. But since they have this massive clout and unique responsibility to the sport and its stakeholders they have to swallow their pride and coexist like what frenemies do.