Here’s a rundown of the changes to expect in the 2024-2025 PVL All-Filipino Conference ahead of the first serve this November.
Following a two-month hiatus, the PVL will return on November 9 for the 2024-2025 All-Filipino Conference, a six-month long conference that aligns with the FIVB calendar for international competitions.
A number of changes have also been made, which include a new format and several player movements that we will see once the conference tips off this November 9 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The upcoming conference also marks the PVL’s first year as the “first and only professional volleyball league” in the country, having received its certification from the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) during a media conference on November 5 at the Novotel Araneta in Cubao.
With an exciting conference ahead of us, here’s the list of the changes to expect for the All-Filipino wars.
The new format
As mentioned, the 2024-2025 AFC will be a long conference that spans from November 2024 up to April 2025. A complex format will be in play, starting with the preliminary rounds that begin on November 9.
All 12 teams will start the season in a single round-robin format, which is set to conclude by February 12 next year. They will then be ranked from 1 to 12 based on the FIVB Classification System according to a league release.
A qualifying round will follow the preliminaries, which serves as the early ticket to the postseason. The matchups will be as follows:
- Rank 1 vs. Rank 12
- Rank 2 vs. Rank 11
- Rank 3 vs. Rank 10
- Rank 4 vs. Rank 9
- Rank 5 vs. Rank 8
- Rank 6 vs. Rank 7
Winning teams advance to the playoffs, while losing teams will participate in the inaugural play-in tournament. Much like the NBA’s own play-in tournament, this is a last attempt for teams to book their postseason ticket.
Play-in teams will be ranked 7 to 12 according to the PVL, and will be separated into two groups. Group 1 will include rank 7, rank 10, and rank 11, while Group 2 will be composed of rank 8, rank 9, and rank 12.
Each group will play a single round-robin, with the top team per group advancing to the playoffs. The Group 1 winner will be the seventh seed, while Group 2’s winner will be the eighth seed according to the league. Losing teams will be ranked between ninth to 12th place based on their preliminary rankings.
With the playoff cast complete, we’ll move on to the quarterfinals, which will be a best-of-three series for each matchup. Winning teams will move on to the semifinals, while losing teams will have final rankings between the fifth to eighth places according to their preliminary round rankings.
Much like the 2024 AFC, the semifinals will be in a round-robin format. Top two teams will advance to the best-of-three finals, while the third and fourth-placed teams will have a battle for third series.
In case of a tie in the semis, a playoff match will be held to determine the finalists.
Player movements
The 2024-2025 All-Filipino Conference will also feature familiar places in new places. First overall pick Thea Gagate will make her long-awaited debut with the ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, while third overall pick Julia Coronel will join the Galeries Tower Highrisers following their Alas Pilipinas commitments.
Cignal’s “GonzaQuis” duo will now be under the Strong Group stable. Jovelyn Gonzaga will be joining Gagate and the Thunderbelles, while Rachel Anne Daquis will be boosting a potent Farm Fresh Foxies side.
The two teams also bolstered their lineups beyond “GonzaQuis.” ZUS Coffee signed another former HD Spiker in Chai Troncoso, along with former Foxies Kate Santiago, Chinnie Arroyo, and Joan Narit ahead of the All-Filipino wars.
Longtime Cignal libero Jheck Dionela, meanwhile, will reunite with Daquis in Farm Fresh as they turn a new leaf in their volleyball careers. Wing spiker Jules Samonte also moves to the Chery Tiggo Crossovers following her time with the PLDT High Speed Htiters.
Like Gagate and Coronel, all other Alas players will return to the PVL. Sisi Rondina and Chery Nunag will rejoin the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, along with Faith Nisperos and Fifi Sharma for the Akari Chargers. Dell Palomata will also return to the PLDT High Speed Hitters, while Jen Nierva will reunite with Chery Tiggo.
Dawn Macandili-Catindig and Vanie Gandler will also have a full season with Cignal after joining late in the Invitational Conference last September along with Creamline Cool Smashers wing spiker Jema Galanza.
However, we’re unlikely to see Eya Laure until further notice due to her ongoing contract issues with the Crossovers. At the same time, the returning Alohi Robins-Hardy has been declared ineligible by the PVL as a free agent due to the PVL draft regulations in place.
Robins-Hardy was originally one of Farm Fresh’s offseason pickups, and last played in the Philippines from 2019 to 2020 in the defunct Philippine Superliga (PSL).
“[Alohi is] a good player, but due to regulations that we created earlier this year…You have to have to have played from 2021 [shortly after PVL turned pro] until 2024 this first conference [2024 All-Filipino],” PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo explained.
“Pag part ka ng mga teams…not even maglaro, ni-line up ka in that period, you are considered as a veteran player so you don’t have to go through the draft. But in her case kasi, hindi siya ni-line up eh…But since hindi siya na-lineup, she has to go through the draft process where she needs to submit certain documents.”
Eleven-time champion Risa Sato on November 8 parted ways with Creamline, wrapping up an eight-year stay that resulted in 10 of her 11 PVL titles. Sato requested an early relaese from her contract which was supposed to expire this December.
“In recognition of her many years of dedicated service to the team, we have extended our understanding and utmost consideration regarding her request, granting her certain accommodations to support her as an athlete while respecting the terms of the contract,” the Cool Smashers’ statement read.
Changes to officiating
The PVL will now be aided by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) for the improvement of its officiating in the 2024-2025 All-Filipino Conference.
No less than PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara made the announcements regarding this change during the press conference.
“So now, as part of the stronger partnership between the PNVF, and our meeting with Sherwin [Malonzo] the commissioner, is to appoint now Yul Benosa, our chairman of the Referee’s Commission of the PNVF, to be now the referee delegate for the PVL,” Suzara said.
“This way, it also raises the level of our referees now in the PVL and put international referees in all the matches.”
The PNVF will also bring in foreign referees during the conference semifinals and finals, who will come from nearby countries such as Hong Kong and Thailand.
“So that there is really a fair decision by the officiating referees. Wala nang masasabi na may bias ang first referee na kaparehong Pilipino, kaya put an international [neutral] referee so there’s no bias,” Suzara shared.
In light of the controversy involving Akari and PLDT in the Reinforced Conference, the PVL is also taking necessary steps to better handle similar situations.
The PVL was under scrutiny last July after their officials overturned the High Speed Hitters’ net fault challenge against the Chargers. An FIVB provision was cited later on, but no real-time explanations were made following the controversial call that worsened the issue.
“Siguro, if a net fault happens again, what will happen is the first referee, in coordination with the video challenge referee, will review the footage and then the video challenge referee will relay his interpretation of the challenge to the first referee. The first referee will then give his decision who to award the call and explain what happened,” Malonzo explained.
“So we’ll be giving the first referee a mic so the audience can understand why the decision has been made. ‘Yun nga, there’s certain rules talaga that’s complicated, so it’s best that a technical person explains to the public, and to the teams.”
Higher stakes for the championship
On top of winning the six-month-long conference, the 2024-2025 All-Filipino champions will also represent the Philippines in the 2025 Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Champions League to be held in Seoul, South Korea.
They will be part of a 12-team field composed of Asia’s best club teams, and will be competing for a cash prize of $50,000 (around PHP 2.9 million). Funding for logistics will be provided by the PVL according to Suzara.
“Club owners, huwag na kayo mag isip nang gastos kasi gagastusan na ng PVL ang funding…So they will now have a budget to shoulder the expense of whoever wins the [All-Filipino] championship,” said Suzara, who concurrently serves as the AVC president.
“And you are allowed to bring two foreign players. Okay? So, sa inyo na ‘yan [foreign players’ salaries]. Whoever wins, you have to get these two foreign players, but all the expenses traveling to Seoul for the AVC Champions League will be funded by the PVL.”
A doubleheader this November 9 is set to kick off the All-Filipino Conference, with Galeries Tower and Akari serving as the 4:00 p.m. curtain raiser. Rondina and Choco Mucho will lock horns with Brooke Van Sickle and the Petro Gazz Angels at 6:30 p.m. to cap off opening night at Philsports.
Banner image courtesy of the Premier Volleyball League.