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PSL BATS FOR BUBBLE COMPETITION IN MARCH 2021 WITH OR WITHOUT VACCINE FOR SEA GAMES PREP SAYS CHAIRMAN JUICO

Philippine Superliga (PSL) is now working on its plan to rise up after the halted prior goals of the league due to the virus and weather-related cancellations in March 2021.

/ 4 January 2021

“It was very challenging for everybody. Hindi lang sports but for everyone because of the pandemic and disasters,” PSL chairman Philip Ella Juico told spin.ph.

Sa March, without vaccine, we will come up with a modified bubble. We’re working with the government. Kasi kailangan e. Remember, we are preparing for the SEA Games. Hindi pwedeng bakanteng bakante dahil kung hindi dadamputin tayo sa kangkungan nyan and sayang naman yung naipon na natin,” he added.

Last January of 2019, PSL failed to stage a four-team tournament in the SEA Games as Coronavirus Pandemic hindered tournaments to proceed and even practice sessions.

Even though the PSL were able to manage to stage a three-day event in January, ruled by a Japanese selection team, but still not enough to gun the PH team for the upcoming SEA games as the Grand Prix lasted only three playdates then forced to cancel the rest of the season in March.

Nonetheless, the league started to fill the void of the missed tournaments by planning to stage a bubble beach-volleyball tournament last quarter of 2020, yet put into freeze as multiple typhoons landed on the Philippines.

However, with the non-stop halted plans of the PSL, Chairman Juico shared that they are hopeful for its recovery especially the podium for Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup in Subic in February, an All-Filipino event in March and the Grand Prix as season-ender plus a collegiate conference in July.

“We will be very active because traditionally the PSL has been the source of 85 to 90 percent of the members of the national team…in other words, we have a distinction to uphold if we want to maintain or sustain that for the country because we have arrived at a working formula,” Juico propounded.

According to Juico, the league is already hands-on preparing the requirements for the All-Filipino Bubble Conference in March as part of their commitment to the women’s national team where 11 of the 14 Philippine women’s volleyball team members in the 2019 SEA Games were from the PSL.

Moreover, even though the PSL teams of Petron, Generika-Ayala, and Marinerang Pilipina are having their leave of absence this will be replenished by the presence of the All Filipino champion F2 Logistics, Chery Tiggo, Sta. Lucia, Cignal, and PLDT which are the current teams in the league.

And although the Petro Gazz is already committed to Premier Volleyball League (PVL) which the league also disclosed, Juico made it sure that there will be no conflicts of schedules be it in PVL nor the All-Filipino tourney.

Also, PSL is set to join the AVC Asian Women’s Club Championship in April in Taipei and extended its hand to Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. in forming a national team for the 21st AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship in August set to happen in China or Thailand before the SEA Games in November.