PVL: Military training forces Army Lady Troopers to miss Invitationals

The Army Lady Troopers during a game against the Cignal HD Spikers in the 2023 PVL All-Filipino Conference. PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Army Lady Troopers will skip the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference with most of their players currently in military training.

Army coach Randy Fallorina revealed to Inquirer Sports that they won’t be part of the midseason tournament due to the lack of players.

“Yung ibang player namin nasa military training kaya mag-leave muna kami sa PVL Invitationals,” Fallorina said in a message.

(Some of our players are still in military training so we will take a leave in the PVL Invitationals.)

Despite Army’s absence, the PVL has added two new clubs namely Farm Fresh and Gerflor joining the Invitationals, which will also feature two more teams from Japan and Australia in the semifinal round.

The Lady Troopers had a winless 2023 All-Filipino Conference stint in Fallorina’s first stint as KungFu Reyes’ replacement and played without Jovelyn Gonzaga due to her commitment with the Philippine women’s beach volleyball team.

Army coach Randy Fallorina. PVL PHOTO

Army lost 21 straight matches dating back to the elimination round of last year’s Invitational Conference, where it last reached the semifinals.

The Lady Troopers are skipping a PVL tournament for the first time since they returned to the Sports Vision-organized league in 2019.

Defending champion Creamline headlines Pool A with PLDT, Chery Tiggo, Akari, and Gerflor, while Pool B is composed of F2 Logistics, Petro Gazz, Cignal, Choco Mucho, and Farm Fresh.

The top two teams of each group will advance to the semifinals and play another round-robin with guest teams from Japan and Australia.

The best two clubs of the semis round will clash in a knockout championship game, while the No.3 and No.4 teams will fight for the bronze medal.

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