Shakey’s V-League changes name to Philippine V-League

MANILA, Philippines – The Shakey’s V-League, which took up the cudgels for the once dormant sport in 2004 and made it what it is today, will now be called the Philippine V-League when it kicks off its new season in March 2017.

The name change is just one of the many innovations the league will undertake as it gears up for its 14th season with Shakey’s Pizza, its top patron and partner the last 13 years, to remain either as presentor or a major sponsor.

The move is expected to finally draw in top corporate sponsors, majority of which were reportedly reluctant to support the league in the past since it was then exclusively identified with the world’s top pizza parlor.

The league will also tinker with its schedule with the Reinforced Conference, an import-laced tournament which used to be the season-ending event of the league, to serve as the first conference.

The Open Conference, which used to kick off each V-League season, will now be the mid-season tournament slated in July, pushing the Collegiate Conference to the latter part of the year to correspond with the schedule of the UAAP and NCAA games.

“We want the Collegiate Conference to be closest to the UAAP and NCAA, which are usually held late in the year,” said Ricky Palou, president of the organizing Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.

Meanwhile, the Spikers’ Turf, the country’s first and only men’s league, also hopes to ride the crest of its successful second season with a bigger, better staging next year.

“Our men’s league has shown a lot of promise and we will keep it in our annual calendar like the PVL,” said Palou.