BY ABBY TORALBA
THE PVL is bringing back some of the usual volleyball conducts from the pre-pandemic times ahead of the All-Conference set to kick off on Feb. 4.
The league said that since COVID-19 cases continue to recede, it is returning the switching of the court sides every set and will do mandatory center court handshakes among the teams during pre and post-game rites.
“We will again implement the protocols, meaning to say, when both teams are introduced, not like in the pandemic when they would just take a bow and wave, they now go straight to the opponents and shake hands with them,” PVL tournament director Tony Boy Liao said last Saturday during the launch of the tilt at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas.
“Sa game naman, mayroon na tayong switch sides, switch courts so every other set mag-change court,” added Liao, who was with PVL president Ricky Palou, Cignal head for sports content Mico Halili and team’s coaches and team’s team captains.
Those on-court gestures were halted since 2021– a year after the dreaded pulmonary disease broke out.
“We will do again iyong ginagawa noong bago mag-pandemic. Iyong ginagawa talaga sa volleyball,” Liao said.
The league will continue to have the video challenge system in the All-Filipino Conference and added the tournament format will stay the same as last season.
Nine teams will duke it out in a single-round robin eliminations, with the top four squads advancing to the single round semifinals. The top two teams will advance to the best-of-3 finals.
