THE Premier Volleyball League is set to hold its first-ever Rookie Draft on July 6, a landmark event designed to bolster team rosters with fresh talent and ensure the league’s parity.

The draft lottery, which scheduled to take place on June 24, is aimed to discourage “tanking” – deliberately losing games to secure a higher draft pick – by not automatically awarding the top pick to the worst-performing club.

“Drafts are the great equalizer in pro leagues. This season, we will hold our first-ever draft with guidelines influenced by some of the top leagues in the world,” PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo said in a statement.

Beginning the next conference, the clubs are not allowed to have direct hires.

This comes on the heels of another successful conference, where Creamline triumphed over sister team Choco Mucho, securing its fourth straight All-Filipino Conference championship and eighth overall crown.

In the lottery, Strong Group Athletics, which placed last in its debut conference will have a 40-percent chance of nabbing the first overall pick, followed by Capital1 (30%), Galeries Tower (20%), and Farm Fresh (10%).

Teams ranked eighth to first in the All-Filipino Conf will pick fifth to 12th in descending order.

The second and subsequent rounds will follow the reverse order of the All-Filipino standings, with the club having the worst record picking first.

The draft process will allow member teams to select players who have not previously competed in the league, with the order of selection determined by a lottery for the first round and a reverse ranking based on the previous All-Filipino standings for subsequent rounds.

After Creamline and Choco Mucho, the teams are ranked as follows: PetroGazz, Chery Tiggo, PLDT, Cignal, Akari, Nxled, Farm Fresh, Galeries Tower, Capital1 and Strong Group Athletics.

One of the draft’s primary goals is to prevent bidding wars between teams for players, promoting a fairer acquisition process.

Eligibility for the draft requires applicants to be at least 21 years old by Dec. 31, 2024, with no necessity for collegiate playing experience or academic qualifications.

Filipino-foreign applicants must secure a Philippine passport before the deadline for submission of draft eligibility requirements on May 31.

In lieu of a Philippine passport, Filipino-foreign applicants may submit a birth certificate issued in the Philippines.

All applicants must fill up an online form at http://pvl.ph/draft. All additional requirements and documents must be sent to [email protected].

The last day for withdrawal is June 12.