Cignal, PLDT joining PVL

FILE PHOTO–PLDT Power Hitters.

MANILA, Philippines—PLDT and Cignal are set to change leagues even as the Premier Volleyball League signed a three-year broadcast deal with Cignal TV.

Ricky Palou, Sports Vision Management Group president, revealed the development in an interview with The Game on One Sports+ Thursday evening on the same day the league announced its new TV partnership.

“We’ve got PLDT. They confirmed that they are joining the PVL and likewise the Cignal team,” said Palou. “Cignal and PLDT have basically confirmed that they are entering the PVL,”

PLDT joined the Philippine Superliga in 2018 while Cignal was a founding club of the league being part of the inaugural season in 2013.

The inclusion of the MVP clubs into the PVL, which already gained pro status last year, is a big blow to the PSL.

Palou said that the PVL now has 10 teams with the clubs set to be announced: “by next week.”

PLDT will be returning to the Sports Vision fold after six years since Alyssa Valdez led the then Power Hitters to a clean sweep of the 2015 season of the Shakey’s V-League.

FILE PHOTO–Cignal.

Cignal, meanwhile, also has a title under its name when it became the co-champion of the 2017 Invitational Conference together with Kobe Shinwa Women’s University.

With the MVP teams leaving PSL, the league is now in a bit of a crisis with F2 Logistics, Cherry Tiggo, and Sta. Lucia as the only teams signed with the organization.

Petron, Generika-Ayala, and Marinerang Pilipina all have taken leave of absence amid the pandemic.