The Premier Volleyball League has clarified that there will be no changes to the upcoming Rookie Draft, reaffirming its existing policies in a statement released Monday night.
Last February, the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) floated the idea of including an Alas Pilipinas round in the draft, where the first round would be reserved for the national team and all selected players would exclusively suit up for Alas. The proposal drew mixed reactions from the Philippine volleyball community.
However, the PVL did not adopt the suggested mechanism, instead reiterating that all existing rules will remain in place for the upcoming PVL Draft set on June 8, which will mark the league’s third edition since its introduction in 2024.
The league also stressed that its current setup on national team participation remains unchanged. Both current PVL players and incoming draftees will still require endorsement from their respective clubs before being allowed to join the Alas Pilipinas program.
It further maintained that current Alas Pilipinas players who are still in the collegiate ranks remain eligible for the upcoming PVL Draft.
Should they opt to skip this year’s draft to focus on national team duties or other commitments, they will still be required to enter the draft once they decide to turn professional.
“Current PVL players and newly drafted athletes may be endorsed to the ALAS national team program at the discretion of their respective PVL club management. Club approval remains a mandatory prerequisite for national team participation to ensure alignment with contractual obligations and league regulations,” said the league in a statement.
“Athletes who elect to prioritize ALAS and forego participation in the 2026 PVL Draft shall still be required to enter and pass through the PVL Draft upon completion of their national team service. National team involvement does not exempt any athlete from the league’s mandatory entry process,” the statement continued.
Furthermore, if a drafted player receives a qualifying offer from a PVL club within the deadline but chooses to remain with the national team instead, the drafting team will retain exclusive rights to the player for up to three years. This effectively prevents the player from negotiating with or playing for any other club during that period.
After one year, however, the drafting team may opt to waive its rights, allowing the player to be classified as a Rookie Free Agent—provisions the league said are intended to safeguard competitive balance and uphold the integrity of the draft system.
“ALAS players are eligible to join the 2026 PVL Draft. When a PVL club tenders a qualifying offer on or before the deadline and the athlete chooses to remain with ALAS, the drafting club shall retain exclusive rights to the player for three (3) years,” said the PVL.
The league also emphasized that the draft remains the only gateway into the PVL, reinforcing its position as the central mechanism for player entry and competitive balance across all clubs.
“Entry into the PVL is strictly and exclusively through the PVL Draft. No athlete may join or negotiate with any PVL club outside the draft mechanism. This rule applies uniformly to all aspiring players without exception.”
