By Kristel Satumbaga
Organizers of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) are working double time to get the approval from the authority so teams can resume workouts by the end of the month as it intends to restart competition by the first quarter of next year.
Sports Vision president Ricky Palou said they are already coordinating with the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) Chairman by Baham Mitra following their recent move to turn professional.
“We are hoping that the Inter-Agency Task Force will allow our teams to train together soon,” Palou said in Tuesday’s virtual Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
At the moment, only pro leagues in basketball, 3×3 basketball, football and boxing are allowed to hold tournaments. Among these leagues are the PBA, Chooks-To-Go 3×3 and Philippine Football League.
PVL became the first volleyball league in the country to turn pro, a move that team officials and players have welcomed.
In earlier interviews, Palou said they plan to give teams a few months to establish their chemistry and dynamics before plunging into competition.
In a previous press briefing, players Bea De Leon, Alyssa Valdez and Nicole Tiamzon shared how they are coping up during a pandemic along with their teammates following team-training restrictions over the last seven months.
“Right now we’re focusing on being fit. Conditioning is our priority so that when it’s time to go back, injuries would be prevented as well,” said De Leon, a middle hitter for the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.
“We’re just looking to come back and hopefully we’ll have enough time to get the court skills before the competition because it’s been a while. It will take time to get the team dynamics down,” she added.
Valdez shared the same sentiment, adding that they are also focused on mental toughness.
“As a team, we also want to be mentally prepared. As players, sanay kaming laging magkakasama, nagkikita everyday, so as much as possible meron kaming mga kamustahan, movie nights, games nights with the team,” the multititled spiker for the Creamline Cool Smashers said.
Tiamzon of the BanKo Perlas Spikers said virtual training helped them cope with the situation.
“Napakalaking bagay na nagzu-Zoom session kami, sabay-sabay, kasi it’s very hard to to work out alone. We’re also trying to be mentally tough and help each other throughout this pandemic,” she said.
