PLDT completes PH Trio in AVC Women’s Champions League

The Philippines will have three teams competing in the AVC Women’s Champions League as the host country, with PLDT joining Creamline and Petro Gazz in the tournament.

Just hours before the official draw in Bangkok, Thailand, the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) awarded the Philippines an additional slot for the inaugural club competition, set to take place from April 20 to 27 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig. 

Creamline and Petro Gazz were the first to qualify for the tournament after finishing at the top of the preliminary round in the 2024-25 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All-Filipino Conference and advancing to the quarterfinals.

With the extra slot, the High Speed Hitters secured their place after finishing fourth in the preliminaries and earning a quarterfinal spot against Choco Mucho in a best-of-three series.  

PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort expressed his excitement about competing in the tournament, seeing it as a valuable opportunity to gain experience at a higher level.  

“We’re happy to be part of it and play in a higher level of competition. We’re going to learn and gain a lot of experience playing in it,” he said. “We’ll do our best to represent PLDT and our country, especially that we’re the host.”

Ricafort emphasized the challenges of the lengthy conference, highlighting the need to keep the team in peak condition. 

“For sure, it will be very challenging since this conference is long, so we need to make sure we maintain the players’ condition. In terms of mindset, we’re still focused on our upcoming games with Choco Mucho. It’s one game at a time for us,” said Ricafort.

Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima QminC and Vietnam’s VTV Bình Điền Long An have also confirmed their participation in the competition.