MANILA, Philippines – Many volleyball dreams were realized during the 2024 Premier Volleyball League Rookie Draft on Monday night, but there were also some stymied as more than half of the 47 hopefuls heading into the draft were left unselected.
As teams began to pass on the draftees as early as the second round, expectations began to dwindle for most of the players left on the couches of the Monet ballroom at the Novotel Manila in Cubao.
By the end of five rounds, a whopping 24 applicants were left without a team.
Shortly after, PVL president Ricky Palou and PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo headed on over to speak to them about the technicalities after the draft and what they could do to hopefully get themselves into a team next conference.
But perhaps the most important source of comfort for the undrafted players was three-time PVL Most Valuable Player Alyssa Valdez of the Creamline Cool Smashers.
Considered an icon of Philippine volleyball, Valdez offered her consolation to the players and encouraged them to continue on in their dream despite the setback.
“Well I said [to them], alam mo yun, we all want them to be part of the community. They're still part of the community, free agent sila ngayon. I told them this is just a stepping stone for them para abutin yung mga dreams nila to be a part of any teams in the PVL,” said Valdez, who also embraced some of the players.
“It's just the beginning. This is the first draft, so marami pa silang opportunities na mapupuntahan at mag-oopen sa kanila. Kapit lang, tiyaga lang, and work harder and smarter,” she added.
Valdez’ own team, the Creamline Cool Smashers, drafted only one player — Filipino-Canadian libero Aleiah Torres in the first round.
Despite this, the longtime PVL star said that there is much to look forward to in the future with the draft system and she hopes to see more aspirants continue to aim for the PVL.
“We're just very, very happy for the league itself, we're happy for the players, we're happy for all the team owners, kasi siyempre lahat naman tayo magbe-benefit din dito,” said Valdez.
“Ako, napapa-proud ako kasi napaka-successful ng first-ever draft ngayong taon, kaya naman excited na kami sa mga magpapa-draft ulit next year, we're very excited for all of you.”