The 2025 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference was the first conference of the 2025–26 Premier Volleyball League season and the second tournament of the season. The fourth Invitational Conference runs from August 21 to 31, 2025 and featured five of the league's local teams alongside one foreign guest team. The tournament was initially set to start on August 19, two days before its current schedule.[1]
| 2025 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | August 21–31, 2025 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Matches | 15 |
| TV partner(s) | |
| Streaming partner(s) | Pilipinas Live |
| Results | |
| Champions | PLDT High Speed Hitters |
| Runners-up | Kobe Shinwa University |
| Third place | Creamline Cool Smashers |
| Fourth place | Chery Tiggo Crossovers |
| Awards | |
| Conference MVP | Savi Davison |
| Finals MVP | Kath Arado |
| Best OH |
|
| Best MB |
|
| Best OPP | Ara Galang |
| Best Setter | Sakura Furuta |
| Best Libero | Kath Arado |
| PVL Invitational Conference chronology | |
|
2026 > | |
| PVL conference chronology | |
The PLDT High Speed Hitters won the conference after beating the guest team Kobe Shinwa University in the championship match in four sets, giving them back-to-back gold medals following their preseason triumph.[2] The Creamline Cool Smashers swept the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in the 3rd medal match to complete the podium and retain their streak of nineteen consecutive podium finishes.[3]
Qualification
editThe 2025 Invitational Conference follows the same format as the 2024 edition. It is a smaller-scale tournament where only a selection of teams will qualify based on performance from the previous conference.[4][5]
Four slots were allocated for the semifinalists of the 2025 PVL on Tour. These were Chery Tiggo Crossovers, Cignal HD Spikers, Creamline Cool Smashers, and PLDT High Speed Hitters. As part of the Invitational Conference, the league invited two foreign guest teams to compete. The Kurashiki Ablaze and Kobe Shinwa University, both from Japan, were announced to compete on August 13. Kobe Shinwa will make their debut after backing out of the 2022 edition.[6]
On August 21, it was announced that Kurashiki, which would have made their third consecutive Invitational appearance, will no longer compete due to a "serious compliance violation" by head coach Hideo Suzuki. An invitation was first sent to the Farm Fresh Foxies, but the team instead gave the invitation to the Zus Coffee Thunderbelles, which accepted it.[7]
| Qualification method | Date | Berths | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 PVL on Tour semifinalists | August 7–9, 2025 | 4 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers |
| Cignal HD Spikers | |||
| Creamline Cool Smashers | |||
| PLDT High Speed Hitters | |||
| Invited teams | August 21, 2025 | 1 | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles |
| Foreign guest teams | August 13, 2025 (announcement) | 1 |
Kobe Shinwa University (Japan) |
Participating teams
edit| 2025 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbr. | Team | Affiliation | Head coach | Team captain |
| Local teams | ||||
| CTC | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | United Asia Automotive Group |  Norman Miguel |
Aby Maraño |
| CHD | Cignal HD Spikers | Cignal TV, Inc. | Shaq Delos Santos |
Dawn Macandili-Catindig |
| CCS | Creamline Cool Smashers | Rebisco | Sherwin Meneses |
Alyssa Valdez |
| HSH | PLDT High Speed Hitters | PLDT Inc. | Rald Ricafort |
Kath Arado |
| ZUS | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | Zuspresso Sdn. Bhd. / Strong Group Athletics | Jerry Yee |
Cloanne Mondoñedo |
| Foreign guest team | ||||
| KSU | Kobe Shinwa University |  Kiyokazu Yamamoto[8] |
Sakura Furuta[8] | |
Venues
edit| Preliminaries | Preliminaries, Finals |
|---|---|
| Pasig | Quezon City |
| PhilSports Arena (PSA) | Smart Araneta Coliseum (SAC) |
| Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 20,000 |
_2019.jpg) |
(2017-08-13).jpg) |
Transactions
editNational team players
editThe following players are part of the Philippines women's national team pool that were training and scheduled to play in several events in the 2025 national team season. They were therefore excluded from the conference.[9] On August 18, these players were allowed to report back to their respective clubs but they can only play in the Reinforced Conference and not this tournament.[10]
Additionally two players filed a leave of absence to train for the national beach volleyball team for the 2025 SEA Games.[11][12]
| Team | Player/s | |
|---|---|---|
| Chery Tiggo Crossovers | Jen Nierva | N/a |
| Choco Mucho Flying Titans | Sisi Rondina (beach) | N/a |
| Cignal HD Spikers | Dawn Catindig | Vanie Gandler |
| Creamline Cool Smashers | Jia de Guzman | Bernadeth Pons (beach) |
| PLDT High Speed Hitters | Dell Palomata | Alleiah Malaluan |
Format
editThe following format is being conducted for the entirety of the conference:
- Preliminary round
- The preliminary round is a single round-robin tournament, with each team playing one match against all other teams for a total of five matches. Teams are ranked using the FIVB Ranking System.
- Results from the 2025 PVL on Tour semifinals were carried over.[13] Because of this, the four semifinalists will not play against their respective opponents from the conference and will only play four matches.
- The top two teams will advance to the championship match while teams ranked third and fourth will play in the third-place match.
- Teams ranked fifth and sixth will be eliminated and be ranked accordingly in the final standings.
- Finals
- Both the championship (gold medal) and third-place (bronze medal) matches will be singular matches.
- The match-ups will be as follows:
- Championship match: 1st ranked team vs. 2nd ranked team
- Third-place match: 3rd ranked team vs. 4th ranked team
Pool standing procedure
edit- First, teams are ranked by the number of matches won.
- If the number of matches won is tied, the tied teams are then ranked by match points, wherein:
- Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser.
- Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser.
- In case of any further ties, the following criteria shall be used:
- Set ratio: the number of sets won divided by number of sets lost.
- Point ratio: the number of points scored divided by the number of points allowed.
- Head-to-head standings: any remaining tied teams are ranked based on the results of head-to-head matches involving the teams in question.
Preliminary round
edit- All times are Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00).
- The results from the PVL On Tour Semifinals will be carried over.
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | SW | SL | SR | SPW | SPL | SPR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 5.000 | 434 | 344 | 1.262 | Championship match |
| 2 | Kobe Shinwa University | 5 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 1.714 | 442 | 402 | 1.100 | |
| 3 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 1.222 | 430 | 425 | 1.012 | 3rd place match |
| 4 | Creamline Cool Smashers | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 1.000 | 482 | 460 | 1.048 | |
| 5 | Cignal HD Spikers | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 0.538 | 398 | 433 | 0.919 | |
| 6 | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0.133 | 303 | 423 | 0.716 |
Source: Premier Volleyball League
Match results
edit| Date | Time | Venue | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 21 | 16:00 | PSA | Cignal HD Spikers | 2–3 | Creamline Cool Smashers | 25–22 | 17–25 | 25–22 | 11–25 | 8–15 | 86–109 | P2 |
| Aug 21 | 18:30 | PSA | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 3–0 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 25–16 | 25–14 | 25–20 | 75–50 | P2 | ||
| Aug 23 | 13:30 | PSA | Kobe Shinwa University | 3–0 | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 25–14 | 27–25 | 25–17 | 77–56 | P2 | ||
| Aug 23 | 16:00 | PSA | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 3–0 | Cignal HD Spikers | 25–19 | 25–13 | 25–22 | 75–54 | P2 | ||
| Aug 23 | 18:30 | PSA | Creamline Cool Smashers | 2–3 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 20–25 | 26–24 | 25–21 | 17–25 | 15–17 | 103–112 | P2 |
| Aug 25 | 16:00 | PSA | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 3–0 | Kobe Shinwa University | 25–20 | 25–22 | 25–23 | 75–65 | P2 | ||
| Aug 25 | 18:30 | PSA | Cignal HD Spikers | 3–1 | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 22–25 | 25–19 | 25–18 | 25–19 | 97–81 | P2 | |
| Aug 26 | 16:00 | PSA | Kobe Shinwa University | 3–1 | Creamline Cool Smashers | 27–25 | 25–23 | 23–25 | 25–21 | 100–94 | P2 | |
| Aug 26 | 18:30 | PSA | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 0–3 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 17–25 | 17–25 | 23–25 | 57–75 | P2 | ||
| Aug 28 | 16:00 | SAC | Cignal HD Spikers | 1–3 | Kobe Shinwa University | 7–25 | 18–25 | 25–19 | 25–27 | 75–96 | P2 | |
| Aug 28 | 18:30 | SAC | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 3–1 | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 24–26 | 25–17 | 25–17 | 25–14 | 99–74 | P2 | |
| Aug 29 | 16:00 | SAC | Kobe Shinwa University | 3–2 | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 21–25 | 17–25 | 26–24 | 25–22 | 15–6 | 104–102 | P2 |
| Aug 29 | 18:30 | SAC | Zus Coffee Thunderbelles | 0–3 | Creamline Cool Smashers | 15–25 | 18–25 | 21–25 | 54–75 | P2 |
Final round
edit- All times are Philippine Standard Time (UTC+08:00).
3rd place match
edit| Date | Time | Venue | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | 16:00 | SAC | Chery Tiggo Crossovers | 0–3 | Creamline Cool Smashers | 15–25 | 13–25 | 22–25 | 50–75 | P2 |
Championship match
edit| Date | Time | Venue | Score | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4 | Set 5 | Total | Report | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | 18:30 | SAC | PLDT High Speed Hitters | 3–1 | Kobe Shinwa University | 21–25 | 31–29 | 25–22 | 25–18 | 102–94 | P2 |
Final standings
edit|
|
|
Awards and medalists
edit| Award | Player | Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Most Valuable Player | Savi Davison | PLDT | [14] [15] |
| Finals Most Valuable Player | Kath Arado | PLDT | |
| 1st Best Outside Hitter | Jema Galanza | Creamline | |
| 2nd Best Outside Hitter | Nagisa Komatsuda | Kobe Shinwa | |
| 1st Best Middle Blocker | Jeanette Panaga | Creamline | |
| 2nd Best Middle Blocker | Rizza Nogales | Zus Coffee | |
| Best Opposite Hitter | Ara Galang | Chery Tiggo | |
| Best Setter | Sakura Furuta | Kobe Shinwa | |
| Best Libero | Kath Arado | PLDT | |
Medalists
edit| Gold | Silver | Bronze |
PLDT High Speed Hitters
|
Kobe Shinwa University
|
Creamline Cool Smashers
|
| Head coach: Rald Ricafort | Head coach: Kiyokazu Yamamoto | Head coach: Sherwin Meneses |
References
edit- ↑ Garcia, John Mark (August 1, 2025). "PVL Invitationals set to start two days after On Tour final". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
- ↑ Villar, Joey (August 31, 2025). "PLDT edges Kobe Shinwa to rule PVL Invitational". Philstar.com. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ↑ Morales, Luisa (August 31, 2025). "Creamline secures 19th straight podium finish in PVL but far from done, says Michele Gumabao". One Sports. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ↑ "PVL on Tour takes Pre-season nationwide". June 4, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
- ↑ "PVL on Tour kicks off in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, brings big-league volleyball to provinces". Tiebreaker Times. June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
- ↑ Demigillo, Kiko (August 13, 2025). "Japanese teams Kurashiki, Kobe Shinwa set to spice up 2025 PVL Invitational Conference". onesports.ph. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
- ↑ Dannug, Jonash (August 21, 2025). "Kurashiki exits PVL Invitational as Hideo Suzuki faces V.League compliance violation". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- 1 2 Garcia, John Mark (August 23, 2025). "Kobe Shinwa blanks ZUS Coffee in PH volleyball return". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved August 23, 2025.
- ↑ Garcia, John Mark (June 19, 2025). "Alas Pilipinas players to miss PVL action until mid-October". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
- ↑ "Alas spikers cleared to rejoin PVL mother teams". The Philippine Star. August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "PVL: Choco Mucho's Sisi Rondina's extensive efforts with team statistician pay off". ABS-CBN Sports. April 13, 2025. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ↑ Villar, Joey (December 24, 2025). "De Guzman, Pons, Rondina back with PVL teams after SEA Games stint". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
- ↑ "PLDT, Chery Tiggo renew rivalry as PVL Invitational unwraps". www.pvl.ph. August 20, 2025. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
- ↑ "Davison claims first MVP trophy after all-around brilliance". Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ↑ Demigillo, Kiko (August 31, 2025). "Kath Arado admits surprise at being first libero to be named PVL Finals MVP". One Sports. Retrieved September 3, 2025.