The decision to transfer to the V-League from the PSL surprised a lot of people. The fact that it was announced on 01 April 2016 made it appear like a prank of sorts.
My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the news broke a couple of days ago. My social media accounts haven’t been idle either. I’ve been fielding a lot of questions from friends, from reporters, and more importantly from fans, I’ve tried to answer to the best of my authority but it ultimately boils down to: WHY?
Moving my team to the ol’ V was not a snap decision or a spur of the moment thing. As I told another publication, there are a myriad number of reasons none of which I can exactly disclose. I also told the Tiebreaker Times crew that out of respect to our hopefully still good friends in the PSL, I can’t go into any details.
Why we went to the V is something between our organization and the PSL, the only thing I can say is that we had a good run the last couple of years, and it was pretty fun working with my PSL friends like Boss Ariel, Sir Don, Mam Anna, Sir Gino, Doc Ian, and Chairman Popoy to put on a good v-ball product for the fans. Gods, I’ll miss Mam Helen and Mam Anjel.
While I cannot talk about the reasons why, I can rule out right now the wrong reasons.
It wasn’t about the money, it was never about the money, and it will never be about the money. Contrary to rumors, the PSL as of Grandprix 2015 no longer has a joining fee, so it’s definitely not about saving a million pesos as joining fee. It’s not about the calendar either, the PSL schedule is jam packed with a lot of wonderful projects that any team manager worth his salt will gladly support. Who wouldn’t want to have a near 12 months’ active sports league to promote your company’s product?
Before we ended up deciding close to midnight of the 31st, I was already informed by my bosses that the team’s management and staff will be restructured to make it leaner and stronger. I was likewise told that the 31st may possibly also be my last day to call the shots for the team. So I went to the PSL meeting on the 31st, made sure that my eventual successor wouldn’t have a hard time adjusting and said my personal goodbyes to the PSL people, fellow team managers and other good folks.
I’m going to miss competing against Alvin and his Foton Tornadoes. We kicked each other’s asses on the court but we developed a really close friendship.
When I came back to the office in the afternoon I was informed that I was going to be retained and then proceeded to weigh the pros and cons of staying put or moving to the V. We finished nearly at the stroke of midnight just a few minutes before 01 April 2016 after a marathon session of discussions.
Looking back, I do find it funny that we released the news on the 1st of April. We wanted to get the word out fast to both the PSL and to the V of our transfer that it slipped our minds that people might think it was a prank. We didn’t want to keep the PSL in limbo nor do we want the V to be unprepared for us, so we made the announcement the very next day.
I am quite grateful for the messages of support from our fans that continue to pour in. Thank you guys. I can’t promise a championship in our maiden conference, heck I can’t promise a championship in our first year, but we’ll try and compete like we always do.
The name Philips Gold Lady Slammers will be Pocari Sweat, but the heart, the fighting spirit and the love for each other which are the trademarks of the team is still there. It might be a rough start since the opening of the V is like next month and we are still shaking off the cobwebs, but with the continued support of our fans I am confident we can hit our stride sooner rather than later.
Our mission to help strengthen our National WVT remains. We will continue to provide opportunities to young Filipina women to not only showcase but to nurture their volleyball talents post college. This is why we started our project, and we will continue this project for the foreseeable future.
To our fans who felt betrayed by our transfer, I’m sorry, but we made a decision which we believe is best for the team and our mission. Only time will prove whether or not we made the right choice, but it is a choice that we plan to commit to, through thick or thin. Nothing I can say right now may soothe the hurt, but please do watch us even for a game, who knows maybe your love for the Philips Gold Lady Slammers might light up again. We might be rocking a new league logo, and a different team name, but underneath the jersey it is still us – the fun loving scrappy v-ball team that you came to adore.
(This is a personal message from Atty. Eric Ty, all views expressed were from the Philips Gold team manager and no edits were made by the publisher)
