THE 2026 AVC Women's Cup volleyball tournament set in Candon, Ilocos Sur in June may set a record of sorts in Philippine Sports.
For the wrong reasons, that is.
You see, the international tournament is set to be hosted by the Philippines with our national association for volleyball, the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF), likely ending up with no participation whatsoever.
Instead, under the plan, sources said the tournament will be run by other people outside the PNVF, with financial backing from the Philippine Sports Commission.
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The AVC or Asian Volleyball Confederation, by the way, is headed by Ramon 'Tats' Suzara, who used to head the PNVF until elections held late last year installed Tony Boy Liao as the new president.
Regardless of the politics involved, it is elementary - or basic, as the Gen Z loves to say - for all international tournaments to be staged not by the PSC nor the regional federation (AVC) but by the national association, in this case the PNVF.
This was precisely what Liao raised in a letter to Volleyball World, the commercial arm of the FIVB, a copy of which was seen by SPIN.ph, pointing to 'procedural lapses' in the formation of the tournament's Local Organizing Committee (LOC).
The PSC, under chairman Patrick 'Pato' Gregorio, has been supporting the staging of several international tournaments in the country in its aggressive sports tourism drive. Well and good, so long as the tournaments are done the right way.
We have yet to see the FIVB response to the PNVF letter, but sources revealed it was not positive on the part of the PNVF. And we won't be surprised if this international tournament will push through in Candon in June exactly as planned.
Not good.
No takers for Cignal's Spikers' Turf team
Volleyball fans are still puzzled at the sudden departure of the Cignal Spikers Turf in the country's semi-professional league where they have carved a dynasty with nine championships.
Team officials have kept mum on the reason for the disbandment although it was believed that the decision came straight from the office of team owner Manny V. Pangilinan following an internal audit which, at this point, no one knows what it meant.
But whatever it was that turned out in the audit must have displeased MVP who seldom shuts down teams specially if they are successsul, such aas the Spikers Turf.
Some people in the organization reportedly tried tosave the team by offering the franchise to other MVP companies. There were no takers, which is not surprising. If MVP himself reportedly said no more of this, which one of his companies would defy him?
PIN.ph sources said it was offered to Maynilad Water Services which is no stranger to the volleyball scene after fielding a women's volleyball team bannered by Alyssa Valdez back in the 2013 Shakey's V-League Open Conference.
The offer did not go far.
With the disbandment, several players were left holding an empty bag, such as Owa Retamar, Louie Ramirez, and Jau Umandal.
Like the rest, these players did not know what hit them. Members of a champion team yesterday, gone today. - John Mark Garcia
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