PREMIER Volleyball League (PVL) president Ricky Palou set the record straight on the surprise exclusion of Chery Tiggo stars Eya Laure and Jen Nierva from Alas Pilipinas’ most recent FIVB Challenger Cup squad.
Just as the nationals expanded its 14-player pool to 19, the final roster spiraled back to 14 following a series of injury-related absences and late withdrawals.
Their campaign ended in an early straight-sets loss in the knockout quarterfinals of the Challenger Cup to regional powerhouse Vietnam, the eventual bronze medalist in the final qualifying tournament for the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
The competition’s aftermath left Alas fans with more questions than answers on why Laure and Nierva, who were loaned by Chery Tiggo in the AVC Challenge Cup, weren’t available when Alas was already starting to build on its newfound momentum in international play.
Player-lending agreements between PVL, PNVF
Prior to Alas Pilipinas’ formation in mid-May, multi-faceted agreements were set between the PVL and the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) on lending players for national team competitions in light of expected schedule overlaps with PVL play.
Palou made it clear once and for all that PVL teams are required to lend their players whose services will be requested by the PNVF since the pro league's coming conference falls on an international window.
According to insiders, the PVL got the green light to hold a tournament during the FIVB international window on the condition that its players are released to the national team if called up.
And should PVL teams decline to do so, Palou said the league was initially set to restrict players who were not lent even upon PNVF’s request from playing in the upcoming Reinforced Conference.
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“For the national team, kapag kinuha ng coaching staff ang players, kailangan sila sumama doon sa pool ng national team until they are released by the PNVF.
“Now, if the team chooses not to allow their players to play, on our part, we have an agreement with the PNVF that they will not also be allowed to play in the Reinforced Conference, ‘yun lang naman. But I’m sure they will allow naman.”
The league president also confirmed that Alas players, 12 of whom excluding Laure and Nierva are in the PVL including newly-drafted aces, are to be released by the PNVF back to their mother teams by August 11 at the end of Leg 2 of the Southeast Asian (SEA) V.League in Thailand.
“This time, sabi ng PNVF by August 11, all the players will be released to the teams.”
Was Chery Tiggo in the wrong?
Such above-mentioned initial arrangements, however, remain fluid as talks continue among the stakeholders.
“We’re still talking to the management of Chery Tiggo. We’re hoping naman na they will allow the two (Laure and Nierva) to remain with the national team. Sayang din naman eh. We’re still communicating with them, nothing definite yet,” Palou said.
And from Palou’s vantage point, at the very least, the entire debacle unfolded as a result of a misunderstanding.
“Mandated si Chery Tiggo to lend their two players to the national team. We’re still talking. Right now, they want to give the players but we’re still talking to explain to them what are the agreements we came up with PNVF,” he added.
“In fact, all the other teams said yes. Si Chery Tiggo lang yung naiiba, I don’t think they really understood everything so we’re trying to explain to them what happened.”
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