IT was a relatively tame press conference that the Premiere Volleyball League( PVL) had last Valentine’s Day at the Discovery Suites .

In fact the word of the day from both coaches and players that day was ” good luck” but believe me, it will take more than luck for the new and newer teans when they meet the top-tiered and veteran teams in the All Filipino Conference set to start February 20 at Philsports in Pasig.

You see , following the disbandment of powerhouse team F2 Logistics, its players were recruited by different teams, add to this the fact that several top players decided to join the rigodon and transferred to other teams, including to the lower ranked squads for a few like Caitlin Viray.

The result, the veteran teams even got stronger that Ricky Palou described the league as having more parity this year than previous years.

Which then will make it more difficult for the other teams to claw their way to the upper echelons of the league, but mind you, a team like NxLed will be able to spring a surprise or two against the higher ranked teams.

Looking at the rosters, it would be easy to pick the teams that would be headed for the semifinals after the elimination round.

I will pick defending champion Creamline as top seed with its team chemistry as its biggest edge over the others.

Fact is Akari team manager Mozzy Ravena admitted to me that yes, her team has improved with its good front office moves to draw good players this year, Ced Domingo for one, her worry is how well the team will jell with the new and old players.

Ced for one is arriving only on February 21, a day after the opening and has not had the opportunity to practice, even more, to know her new teammates.

Aside from Creamline, I will concede another semis seat to Petro Gazz, i saw them in the finals of the Champions League organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation( PNVF) featuring three PVL teams and the UAAP and NCAA champions.

Petro Gazz whipped Cignal in 3 straight sets and if it is true that MJ Phillips will rejoin the team after playing abroad, then definitely Creamline and Petro Gazz will be my top picks.

I find it difficult to say who will be ranked next but the other contending teams will be Cignal, PLDT, Choco Mucho, Chery Tiggo, and Mozzy’s team Akari.

Mozzy was more straight forward, picking Creamline, Petro Gazz, and Choco Mucho as the favored teams for the semis slots with PLDT and Cignal rounding out her top 5 picks.

Thank you Mozzy for the honesty .

The presscon however had its moments and I am happy that my two questions triggered stories in other newspapers and on line .

One was on the status of salary capping that Ricky had been telling me last year, his words” getting out of hand” might have been the best description of the situation if all the rumors about how much now are the salaries of the established superstars and how much are good rookies demanding in their negotiations.

Update is that Ricky team is preparing the guidelines for the league’s salary cap and will present them to the teams for discussion.

Again I thank Mozzy whom I asked if she was in favor of salary capping and she said she was, believing that the PVL officials wilk come up with what is best for the league.

This situation recalls to mind what happened to the then fledgling Metropolitan Basketball Association MBA) that collapsed after a short time, the players’ salaries being a major factor.

I believe that it indeed is time for the PVL to step back and assess the current situation before it really goes beyond going out of hand.

On the drafting plans, it is the same status, the PVL is reparing guidelines for discussion, what is definite is that it will take effect June this year and that age requirement will be 21.

For now, let us sit back and enjoy the games and hope that indeed, it will be an injury free season for the players.