PHILIPPINE volleyball took significant strides en route to the sport's first-ever local pro league, relative to its maiden inception as the Shakey's V-League in 2004.
Since its rebirth six years ago today, the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is set to launch its biggest conference yet with 11 local teams and two foreign guest teams boosting the already competitive field.
Ahead of the upcoming Invitational Conference, here's a trip down memory lane to the day the PVL crowned its inaugural champions — the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors.
READ: Pocari Sweat rallies from a set down to frustrate BaliPure and bag inaugural PVL crown
With veteran mentor Rommel Abella at the helm, Pocari Sweat's rise to the maiden PVL throne was quite the underdog story.
A handful of then-college stars built the champion squad's inaugural PVL roster, with captain Gyzelle Sy, Myla Pablo, Kai Nepomuceno, Jeanette Panaga, Fille Cayetano, Mel Gohing, Elaine Kasilag, Shola Alvarez, Jessey de Leon, Gayle Valdez, Desiree Dadang, and Sarah Espelita comprising the local core.
And in the league's early days, each team was allowed two imports in their final roster. Pocari Sweat tapped the services of American spikers 6-foot-1 Michelle Strizak, who was hailed as the Best Import, and 5-foot-11 Krystal Rivers.
In the prelims, the eventual champs finished third out of six teams. They narrowly missed out on one of two outright semis berths because of having fewer set points won than second-seed Power Smashers (PSM 859 - 814 POC).
Later on, Pocari Sweat topped the single round-robin quarterfinal round alongside Creamline and earned the right to face top-seed BaliPure and the Power Smashers in the Final Four.
The Lady Warriors then prevailed in the best-of-three semis against the Power Smashers in three hard-fought matches and soon took on a formidable Balipure squad.
It was clear ahead of the Finals that the Water Defenders, led by team skipper and second-best open spiker Grethcel Soltones, first-best middle blocker Risa Sato, best setter Jasmine Nabor, and legendary libero Tatan Gata-Pantone, were the favorites to lift the maiden PVL trophy.
But even on the cusp of defeat down one set in the title-deciding Game Three, Rivers' game-high 27 points and Finals MVP Pablo's 16 markers willed the Lady Warriors to the crown in four epic sets — 20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19.
“[Sabi ko sa kanila] magkakapareho lang tayo ng skills, but [mas valuable] ang championship experience namin na magdadala sa amin over the hump,” Pocari Sweat head coach Abella said.
“So it's a good thing na nag-rally ‘yung mga bata sa ganoong pep talk ko, at hats off also sa dalawa naming imports because they gave it their all," he added.
It did not take long, however, for Balipure to gain a measure of revenge over Pocari Sweat as the former dominated their title rematch in the succeeding PVL Open Conference with a two-game sweep.
Six years on, most of these names that laid the groundwork for the PVL's present success are still performing at the highest level.
And best believe they will continue to do so in two weeks' time as Philippine volleyball's first and only pro league to date stages its biggest tournament to date.
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