THE past weeks have seen a flurry of activities from Strong Group's two teams in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) ahead of the All-Filipino Conference beginning on November 9.
Zus Coffee got the ball rolling with the signing of many-time national player Jovelyn Gonzaga to team up with No. 1 draft pick Thea Gagate before facilitating the transfer of Kate Santiago, Joan Narit and Chinnie Arroyo from sister team Farm Fresh - a transaction that is still pending but will likely get cleared by the pro league.
READ Why Farm Fresh trio's transfer to sister team Zus will be cleared by PVL
Not to be outdone, Farm Fresh has brought back Rachel Anne Daquis for a long-awaited PVL comeback before announcing that it has also signed another former Cignal star in Fil-American Alohi Robins-Hardy.
The Foxies announced Robins-Hardy's signing last week.
Great news, indeed. But there's just one problem.
Robins-Hardy, a 31-year old setter who played for United VC and Cignal in the defunct Philippine Super Liga, has never played in the PVL before and therefore cannot sign with Farm Fresh or any member ballclub as a free agent.
A check with the league showed its rules are crystal clear on cases like Robins-Hardy's. Any player who hasn't played for any of its teams after the PVL turned professional in 2021 must go through the draft to enter the league.
No draft, no play.
According to insiders, Robins-Hardy was supposed to play for Cignal in the PVL's Ilocos bubble but never did so since her citizenship papers were incomplete. She also didn't declare for the maiden PVL Rookie Draft.
Sources said another PVL club, Akari, tried to secure the services of the Fil-Am setter in the past, but never got to do so for the same reason.
Her situation is different from Lorene Toring, the former Adamson Lady Falcons standout who is set to play for the Foxies at some point in the PVL All-Filipino Conference once she completes her recovery from an ACL injury.
That injury kept the middle blocker out of the Lady Falcons' UAAP campaign, but Farm Fresh had the presence of mind to sign her up for the last All-Filipino Conference during her recovery period.
Toring was eventually placed in Farm Fresh's lineup for the tournament, making her eligible to join the Foxies this season without going through the rookie draft.
Toring's name is expected to be in the Farm Fresh lineup on October 31, the deadline for the registering of the teams' 20-woman lineups.
Robins-Hardy's?
That remains to be seen.
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