WITH the inaugural pro volley tournament finished, the organizing Sports Vision is working on a better, trouble-free staging when the next Premier Volleyball League conference is held later this year.
While the just-concluded Open Conference was far from being ideal given the prevailing COVID-19 conditions and quarantine restrictions, its staging in a “bubble” setup was par for the course with Sports Vision to build on its gains to ensure a smoother conduct of the tournament the next time around.
“We’re happy we’re able to hold it successfully,” said Sports Vision president Ricky Palou.
“With God’s mercy, we survived all the challenges. Besides, all teams were very cooperative. They made sure the players were kept safe. So, everything worked out well.”
Palou also thanked the Ilocos Norte government, particularly Gov. Matthew Manotoc, for hosting the launch of the country’s first pro volley league although the tournament had to be moved from the Centennial Arena in Laoag City to the PCV Socio-Civic and Cultural Center in Bacarra due to the surge of coronavirus cases in the provincial capital.
But as the highly contagious Delta variant ushers in another deadly wave, Sports Vision was forced to further compress the five-week schedule towards the end of the eliminations to the finals to meet the Aug. 16 deadline before the host province is placed under ECQ.
“We discussed the issue with the teams, which in turn agreed to finish the whole thing,” said Palou. “So, we decided to do away with the rest day(s) to comply with the time limits.”
