THE Army Lady Troopers will not see action in a Premier Volleyball League (PVL) conference for the first time since joining the pro league in 2019 due to lack of players, team manager Sha Torres confirmed to SPIN.ph.
Several Lady Troopers are currently undergoing basic military training while some are still recuperating from injuries.
Torres, however, clarified that the team will only skip the mid-year Invitational Conference and is expected to be back before the 2023 season ends.
READ: Gandler leaves Ateneo to play for Cignal in PVL
"We finally confirmed that we are not joining only for this upcoming PVL invitational due to lack of players. Nag basic military training kasi yung ibang players and some are still recovering from injuries," Torres said.
After advancing to the playoffs to finish fifth in the 2022 PVL Invitational Conference behind Jovelyn Gonzaga and Royse Tubino, the Lady Troopers found themselves in the cellar in succeeding tournaments - riding a 21-game losing streak and finishing last in the nine-team field for two conferences in a row.
While the Army takes a back seat, several Lady Troopers are wooed by other PVL clubs to join the team for the upcoming Invitational Conference slated to start on June 29, but they have yet to get approval.
"Other teams wrote a letter sa Philippine Army requesting our players to join them for this conference," she shared. "Sana ma-approve sa higher headquarters para magtuloy-tuloy pa rin sila makalaro at hindi mawala kundisyon."
In the Army's absence, two new teams are set to expand the local teams to 10 in the mid-season tournament with the addition of Farm Fresh and Gerflor Defenders.
Other teams competing are Petro Gazz, F2 Logistics, Cignal, Chery Tiggo, Akari, PLDT, Choco Mucho and defending champions Creamline.
The tournament was pushed back to open three weeks later from its original June 6 lanch to give way for the AVC Challenger Cup set from June 18 to 25.
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