Petro Gazz and Cignal HD will also see action in the opener of the PVL Invitational Conference.
Creamline Cool Smashers will open their title-retention bid in the PVL Invitational Conference against a retooled Chery Tiggo Crossovers on Tuesday.
The game is set at 6:30pm at the Filoil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City.
It’s not clear yet whether volleyball superstar Alyssa Valdez will see action for the Cool Smashers, but her recent posts suggest fans will finally get to see her strut her stuff.
In the sports show The Game, the former PVL MVP bared she is fully recovered from the knee injury she sustained in December last year. However, mental hurdles still hound her as she tries to regain her dominant form.
But just as equally tough is the competition in the mid-season conference.
According to Valdez, the 11-squad competition is a level playing field, with teams beefing up their rosters ahead of the opener on Tuesday.
“Equal footing talaga lahat,” she said.
In fact, their foes on Tuesday added collegiate stars Eya Laure, Imee Hernandez, Cess Robles, Jen Nierva, and Joyme Cagande into their fold that also has Reinforced Conference MVP Mylene Paat.
“Noong lumabas ‘yung schedule na Creamline ang una naming makakatapat, from there pa lang, nagte-train kami na, ‘Oh, Creamline ‘yung makakalaban natin, so kailangan ganito ‘yung lalaruin natin,” said Paat on The Game.
Pauline Gaston said the team is "hungry" after missing the semifinals in the previous conference.
“I can really feel in each of the players that have come in, and the ones who were retained, everyone is hungry to play, to perform,” said Gaston.
The early contenders’ mettle will be tested in the triple-header which will be ushered in by the F2 Logistics Cargo Movers-Farm Fresh Foxies match in Pool B.
It’s an early acid test for the new PVL club Farm Fresh, which will feature the likes of NCAA MVP Mycah Go, Adamson Falcons super rookie Trisha Tubu, and former Ateneo Blue Eagles standout Pia Ildefonso at 1:30 p.m.
Also in Pool B, the Petro Gazz Angels, whose ace players Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Djanel Cheng were coming off a tour of duty with the Philippine team in the AVC Challenge Cup, will tackle the Cignal HD Spikers in the 4 p.m. game.
(GM)