By Will Imperial
The Premier Volleyball League is set to introduce an innovative fair play recognition system in the upcoming All-Filipino Conference on Feb. 20 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Concurrently, the league will revert to the previous technical timeout format, featuring 8 and 16 timeouts, each lasting one minute, along with regular timeouts lasting 30 seconds. Players will be required to stay on the court during video challenges, preventing coaches from interacting with them during disputes.
In a groundbreaking move, the league will issue green cards to players who voluntarily acknowledge a block touch or a net touch. This initiative aims to streamline adjudication, minimize the need for unnecessary video challenges, and enhance the overall competition dynamics.
League commissioner Sherwin Malonzo highlighted these changes, stating, “We’re bringing back the 8 and 16 technical timeouts and the regular timeouts. Also, during the video challenge, players need to stay on the court, meaning coaches cannot talk to the players during the dispute.”
While the court rotation remains unchanged, the league, organized by Sports Vision, is set to make history with its inaugural rookie draft at the next conference scheduled for June.
The draft order for the bottom four teams will be determined through a lottery, while the remaining teams will likely be allocated positions based on their standings in the season-opening conference.
Malonzo explained the draft eligibility criteria, emphasizing that applicants must be at least 21 years old on the draft day. The league is finalizing detailed regulations, which will be presented to member teams. He noted, “The basic eligibility rule for one to qualify for the draft is that she has to be 21 years old on the day of the draft.”
In terms of the All-Filipino Conference format, it will feature a single round-robin elimination phase with the top four teams advancing to the semis, followed by another round-robin phase. The top two squads will compete in a best-of-three championship series.
In the event of a tie for the second final slot, a playoff will be held, while ties in the elimination phase will be resolved using the FIVB system of classification.
