After two years of being absent from the Premier Volleyball League, PLDT will be making a return for a tentative Reinforced Conference start date of April 1. Bali Pure’s head coach Roger Gorayeb will be leaving for PLDT as it is his “mother team” which he coached prior to the absence of the team two seasons ago.
Gorayeb has said that PLDT will have a strong lineup for the season, including former league MVP Gretchel Soltones, Lizlee Ann Pantone and Alyssa Eroa coming over from Bali Pure along with San Sabastian standouts Joyce Sta. Rita and Katherine Villegas. He has also announced that some UAAP players will be making their way to the team, but cannot disclose their names until the end of the UAAP season.
In Gorayeb’s time with Bali Pure he built up the team to become a runner-up and post a pair of third-place finishes in 2016 along with a runner-up and championship title in 2017.
Soltones coming to PLDT comes at relief for the player as she is under fire for violating the Philippine Superliga (PSL) “One League Policy” in late 2017 after playing in the Premier league for Filoil Flying V Center during a fund-raising match. The violation resulted in Soltones being banned from the PSL for one year. This, however, does not translate in the PVL, therefore allowing her to play with no problems for PLDT.
PLDT is a former PVL powerhouse, having won two championships in the Shakey’s V-League Open and Reinforced Conference two years ago.
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