Philippine Super Liga is looking to hold a beach volleyball tournament instead of an indoor tournament before the year ends, president Ian Laurel revealed on Wednesday.
Speaking on One Sports’ Sports Page program, Laurel said that recent changes in the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases’ guidelines prompted the league to make the shift from indoor to outdoor.
“Remember during two months or three months ago, actual competitions or tournaments should have been allowed during the category of MGCQ [Modified General Community Quarantine] kasi the activities that will be allowed were dependent on the quarantine level. However, doon sa latest na meeting namin sa joint committee like GAB, PSC, and DOH, it was clear that only professional sports — whether contact or non-contact, basta professional — will be allowed to resume competition and tournaments,” said Laurel to the show hosted by Sev Sarmenta and Chiqui Roa-Puno.
“All non-professional sports hindi papayagan until there is a vaccine or accepted standard of treatment so nagbago. It’s like a moving target, so hindi kami ngayon makagawa ng programa. Our teams are having difficulty as well kasi yeah, you can train and train and train, pero kalian ka magco-compete? Up to now, we’re still appealing that decision or policy and we have moved to a more plausible tournament before the year ends and its beach volleyball.”
The plan is to hold the tournament over four to six days at the Subic International Hotel — where the 30th Southeast Asian Games held its beach volleyball tournament — using a bubble concept. Laurel also added that the league is looking at allowing the eight teams to send at least two or three squads in the tournament.
For Laurel, the said tournament will be more reasonable since it has less risk of infection than an indoor six-on-six tournament.
“I think it would be much, much easier from an organization standpoint and Subic has been very, very helpful. They provided us with all of their regulations, with their protocols, and mukhang we just need to appeal this,” he said.
“Mas madali nga siguro unang una, it’s open air. It’s natural ventilation unlike indoor — that’s artificial ventilation. Isa pa, dalawa lang kayong nasa court and mas maikli ‘yung exposure niyo [compared] sa indoor volleyball na maybe it’s an hour and a half or two hours ‘yung game. Dito, thirty-minutes, minsan mas mabilis pa, natatapos na.”
The league has already informed the Philippine Sports Commission about the plan and is looking to formalize the appeal early next week.
