Games on Saturday
(PhilSports Arena)
4 pm – Galeries vs Akari
6:30 pm – Petro Gazz vs Choco Mucho
THE DEBUTS of Alas Pilipinas standouts Thea Gagate and Julia Coronel and the return battle-scarred Rachel Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga are expected to add to the buzz that the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference has been generating as it unfurls on Saturday at the PhilSports Arena.
Ms. Gagate will finally get to play as a pro after being picked first by ZUS Coffee in the league’s historic rookie drafting early this year while Ms. Coronel, the No. 3 pick, will also suit up for the first time with Galeries Tower.
Mses. Gagate and Coronel missed the league’s first two conferences this season due to national team commitments.
Ms. Daquis, who last played for Cignal before going on a one-year hiatus, will make a comeback with Farm Fresh, while Ms. Gonzaga, who also suited up for a conference with Cignal early this year, gets some piece of the action again as she was acquired by Zus.
Both Mses. Daquis and Gonzaga should provide the veteran presence that their youth-laden teams desperately need.
Interestingly, Ms. Gonzaga will team up with Ms. Gagate and a Zus team that also boasts of
2024 NCAA MVP Cloanne Mondonedo, Jade Gentapa, Michele Gamit and Gayle Pascual of three-time unbeaten NCAA champion College of St. Louis are the only players in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Benilde.
For Ms. Daquis, she will be mentoring a promising squad consisting of Trisha Tubu, Ciatlin Viray and Louie Romero.
The conference will be unfurled with Galeries Tower and Akari colliding at 4 p.m. and Petro Gazz and Choco Mucho clashing at 6:30 p.m. — Joey Villar
