Philippine Super Liga to hold first ever Rookie Draft in Women’s Division

With two additional teams joining both divisions of the first volleyball club league in the country, the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) is reaching out to those who want to be included in the list of potential freshmen in its first ever Rookie Draft to be held sometime in February.

In a meeting with league officials led by Commissioner Dr. Ian Laurel, the PSL bared that it is presently busy preparing the mechanics for the Draft, which will be akin to that of its basketball siblings. The top prospects coming out of college and those who have not yet seen action in the PSL will be among those to be chosen by the member teams of the league.

“We want to make sure that the top college prospects go through the Draft to enable the teams to fortify their line-ups and showcase the skills of the young volleyball aspirants out there, especially in the provinces,” Laurel said.

Two new teams will be joining the both the men’s and women’s division in the upcoming PSL season which kicks-off on March 29th at the PSL’s home floor, the Ynares Sports Complex in Pasig City. While the identities of the new “expansion” franchises are still being withheld at present, sources claim that the two new squads that will be joining the women’s division have long track records in fielding in basketball teams in the amateur ranks--with a winning tradition to boot.

With eight teams now in the women’s division and six teams now in the men’s division, the 2014 PSL season will give more players opportunities to strut their stuff on the volleyball court.

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“The upcoming Draft will be for the women’s division only,” Laurel clarified. “We’re giving an opportunity for the men’s division to grow more since it is just a new entity.”

Yahoo! Sports Philippines has obtained a copy of the “expression of intent to join” form that has been circulated to the top prospects within the Metro Manila area:

This form—which is also referred to as a “Draft Declaration” document—is what the aspirants need to initially fill out and either email to the PSL office via info@sportscore,com.ph or submit to the PSL offices at 220 Cityland Condominium, P. Ocampo Sr. street, Malate Manila on or before January 20th.

The league is working on guidelines of eligibility for the Rookie Draft as the expansion teams will also be handed guidelines for “Direct Hires” for their new franchises. Among the criteria available for the incoming Draft class are:

-Applicants must be Filipino (by definition, a Philippine passport holder)

-Applicants who have graduated from college already or will be graduating from college at the end of school year 2013-2014

-Applicants who are graduating from their fourth year in college but opting to forego their eligibility for their collegiate varsity teams for the upcoming 2014-2015 season

-Applicants no longer in school but are at least 18 years of age

-Applicants who have not yet played in the PSL

In the case of PSL players such as Adamson University’s Sheila Pineda (Cagayan Valley) and May Macatuno (PLDT MyDSL), along with Perpetual’s Royse Tubino (Cignal HD), the teams they saw action for in their PSL stint have the option of putting them in their “Protect 10” list—players they will not release into the Expansion Pool for the new franchises—or leave them unprotected. Should any of the varsity players above be unprotected by their teams, they will automatically be included in the Rookie Draft, even if they had already played in the PSL previously.

Among the top names eyed to be joining the inaugural PSL Rookie Draft are National University stalwart Din-Din Santiago, DLSU skipper Aby Maraño, University of St. La Salle-Bacolod wunderkind Patty Orendain and the San Beda scoring duo of Janine Marciano and Frances Molina.

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Also touted to take the next step in their volleyball careers are Arellano University ace setter Diane Ticar, Lady Altas star spiker Jane Diaz and Cebu pagoda Marilyn Llagoso. There are reportedly a handful of volleybelles who are also considering junking eligibility to enter the PSL.

Those who have also finished their scholastic duties in the previous year but have not yet played in the PSL could also join the Rookie Draft such as Ateneo orchestrator Jem Ferrer, DLSU’s Cha Cruz and Wensh Tiu and NU’s Kai Nepomuceno. However, since the two expansion teams have the option for “Direct Hire” these ladies might just be acquired outright as the league continues to thresh out the details of those mechanics.

“The PSL will be releasing the guidelines for the new franchises’ options within the month,” Laurel clarified.

“However, the PSL also wants to reach out to those who want to be part of the Draft coming from outside of Metro Manila,” the youthful commissioner said. “I remember being awed by Patty (Ordendain) which I saw her play and some of the other players from Cebu were also impressive. Sana makasali rin sila sa Draft as we want to discover as much talent as we can from all the regions. Malay ba natin one day, they might just make (it to) the national team.”

The PSL is mulling whether to extend the deadline for those coming out of the provinces, but as for now the January 20 deadline for the submission of the forms is still fixed.

So who will be the Number One Overall Pick in the first ever PSL Rookie Draft? Will Maraño be reunited with libero Melissa Gohing at Petron? How about a Jen Reyes/Din-Din Santiago combo at Cagayan Valley? Will we be seeing Marciano vs. Molina for the first time? Will Orendain carry the flag for Region VI?

The PSL Rookie Draft is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated events of the year’s first quarter.

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Let’s help spread the word to our sisters in the provinces. The forms are available on the PSL website www.philippinesuperliga.com and also by clicking the image above.

Stay tuned here for further announcements on the PSL Rookie Draft, the PSL Expansion Draft and the formation of the two national teams seeing action in the upcoming Asian Volleyball Club Championships. Spread the word.

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com