THE country’s very first volleyball Champions League will raise its curtains on its maiden competition this Saturday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center gym in Lipa City, Batangas.
The Champions League is the only national sports association-organized league during the Covid-19 pandemic outside of the professional basketball tournaments.
A total of six clubs are competing in the six-day, single-round robin women’s side that will be staged in a bubble setup, according to the organizing Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF). Petro Gazz will kick things off with a match against Baguio City at 10 a.m., while F2 Logistics will take on California Precision Sports at 1:30 p.m. Chery Tiggo and Tuguegarao Perlas Spikers cap the opening day tripleheader at 4 p.m.
Three games will be played every day until Nov. 25. The team with the most number of victories will claim the bragging rights as the first-ever titleholder in the Champions League.
“This is the first time that the country is staging its Champions League, which is a staple among members of the International Volleyball Federation or FIVB,” said PNVF head Ramon “Tats” Suzara. “And we’re glad that health protocols have eased and we have a very cooperative local government unit in Lipa City.”
The men’s Champions League will start on Nov. 29 with a three-match schedule featuring Go for Gold-Air Force against VNS, Sabong International Spikers against MRT-Negros, and Global Remit against Team Dasma Monarchs.
The men’s contest will use the same format as the women’s competition.
The games will be streamed over iWantTFC for local and international audiences, and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels. Details on the Champions League are also available at the PNVF official website volleyballphilippines.com.
The Champions League Most Valuable Player, as well as members of the Dream Team—top two outside hitters and two middle blockers, one opposite spiker, one setter, and one libero—will be named after the tournament.