Two teams from the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) are set to jump ship to the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), a league official announced mere hours after the PVL revealed a new broadcast deal with Cignal TV on Thursday.
SportsVision head Ricky Palou said on The Game aired on One News that PLDT and Cignal will be making the leap to the country's first pro volleyball league. Both teams are owned by the MVP Group.
"We've got PLDT. They confirmed that they are joining the PVL and likewise the Cignal team. We have 10 teams already. By next week, everything will be formally announced. Cignal and PLDT have basically confirmed that they are entering the PVL," mentioned Palou.
After the exodus of the two squads, only three teams remain in the PSL, namely Chery Tiggo, F2 Logistics, and Sta. Lucia. Generika-Ayala, Petron, and Marinerang Pilipina all filed a leave of absence in Nov. 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic.
The two squads join BaliPure, Chef's Classic, Choco Mucho, Creamline, Perlas Spikers, and Petro Gazz, and a yet-to-be-named new team.
Cignal had been playing in the PSL since its establishment in 2013. The HD Spikers won a title in the 2017 Invitational, along with guest team Kobe Shinwa Women's University.
On the other hand, PLDT will return to the PVL after joining the PSL in 2018.
The PVL is expected to play its 2021 Open Conference inside the bubble at INSPIRE Sports Academy in Laguna. First serve is tentatively set in April.