THE PVL Invitational Conference unfolds on Tuesday with titleholder Creamline clashing with Chery Tiggo at the Filoil Ecooil Centre in San Juan.
The tournament starts with 11 teams, with two foreign guest squads joining the action later.
See F2, Cignal parade new signings as PVL Invitational gets going
Group A is made up of Creamline, Chery Tiggo, PLDT, Akari and newcomer Gerflor.
Petro Gazz, F2 Logistics, Choco Mucho, Cignal and newcomers Farm Fresh and Foton play in Group B.
"The level of competition will definitely be higher this conference," said Creamline star Alyssa Valdez.
Three months after winning the All-Filipino Conference, the Cool Smashers gear up for another title run buoyed by the team's core anchoring the national women’s team’s campaign in the recent SEA Games in Cambodia where the Philippines placed fourth.
They also enlisted Bernadeth Pons to complement Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza’s games, along with those of Jia de Guzman and Kyla Atienza's, although Creamline fans are as much eager and thrilled as the rest over the return to competitive play of Valdez, who missed the All-Filipino conference due to a knee injury.
“Yung team na healthy all throughout the season will make a big difference this conference. Lahat pantay-pantay na talaga, including yung support ng mga teams," said Valdez.
They kick off their campaign against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers at 6:30 p.m.
Chery Tiggo signed UST’s Eya Laure and Imee Hernandez, and the National U trio of Princess Robles, Jennifer Nierva, and Joyme Cagande to backstop a team led by seasoned campaigners Mylene Paat, Buding Duremdes, Ponggay Gaston and EJ Laure.
"We are very excited if you may say so but it really entails a lot of responsibilities to match and manage the expectations of many," said Chery Tiggo head coach Aaron Velez.
"Overall, this is an opportunity to start developing a younger era of talents for the long term," he added.
The first two matches will feature Group B teams with F2 Logistics testing the mettle of Farm Fresh at 1:30 p.m. and Cignal squaring off against Petro Gazz at 4 p.m.
Coming off a bronze medal finish, the Cargo Movers added Jolina Dela Cruz, Mars Alba and Jovelyn Fernandez.
But the Foxies are no pushovers. Behind the mainstays of NCAA champion squad College of Saint Benilde, Farm Fresh also boasts of Trisha Tubu, Kate Santiago, Ckyle Tagsip, Pia Ildefonso, and Joan Narit.
Meanwhile, the HD Spikers will parade promising rookie Vanie Gandler and returning Jovelyn Gonzaga when they face an intact Angels squad that is coming off a runner-up finish last conference.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals, a round-robin phase to be spiced up by the participation of two foreign guest squads. The top two will dispute the gold medal in a winner-take-all finale with the third and fourth-placed teams to compete for the bronze.
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