PVL Draft yields 11 players
Alta Sports3 days ago · 144 views
Photo: PVL
By Rachel Gonzales
Only 11 of the 38 aspirants heard their names called in the 2026 Premier Volleyball League Rookie Draft on Wednesday night at Novotel.
All nine PVL teams passed after the second round, leaving a majority of the draft hopefuls undrafted.
PVL Control Committee chairman Sherwin Malonzo acknowledged that this year's draft was one of the toughest, with several talented players still available despite a deep pool of applicants.
“There were a lot of new talents, but what stood out this year was that most teams are still loaded,” Malonzo said. “I guess teams aren't ready to let go of their veteran players yet because they still bring a lot of value.”
Photo: PVL
Malonzo also pointed to the league's changing landscape following the leaves of absence of Cignal, Chery Tiggo, and Petro Gazz, which led crowded rosters for the nine remaining teams.
“At the same time, some teams went on leave of absence, so their players were dispersed among the remaining teams. I think that's also a factor in why fewer players were selected this year,” he said.
For the first time in PVL Draft history, a team passed in the opening round, with Akari opting not to use the fifth overall pick.
Lams Lamina was the top overall pick by Galeries. Detdet Pepito was drafted by Capital1 at No.2, followed by Tin Ubaldo selected by Choco Mucho, and ZUS Coffee’s fourth pick, Alyanna Ong from Mapua.
Nxled selected Irah Jaboneta. Farm Fresh tapped Jonna Perdido, and Creamline drafted Barbie Jamili.
The draft ended in the second round, with Capital1 selecting Khy Cepada, followed by Ann Asis (Galeries), and Ela Raagas (Farm Fresh).
Photo: PVL
Despite going undrafted, players such as Jade Fuentes, Xyza Gula, Joan Monares, and Taks Fujimoto can still pursue professional opportunities as free agents.
Malonzo and PVL president Ricky Palou reminded the undrafted aspirants that the draft is not the end of their professional hopes.
“Most teams selected players based on specific needs,” Malonzo said.
“If you look at the numbers, about one-third of the applicants were drafted this year. Last year, it was around half. The same thing happened the year before.”
“There are cases where undrafted players become free agents and can be directly hired by teams. They no longer have to go through the draft. There are still a lot of talented players left unselected, so I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly see some of them joining teams in the future.”
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Maddie Enjoy
PVL should encourage more teams to join the league. 2 days agoReply
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