Amid the confusion sparked by the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference opener, league commissioner Sherwin Malonzo clarified import rules on Tuesday after Nxled defeated Galeries in a five-set match.
The amiable commissioner addressed the situation where Nxled opted for American middle blocker Meegan Hart over Chinese wing spiker Xuanyao Jiang, while Galeries made a last-minute switch from Brazilian Monique Helena to Thai outside spiker Sutadta Chuewulim, who arrived just the previous night.
"There was a misconception. They didn't have two imports," clarified Malonzo before the second game of the opener. "Each team can only have one import; let's make that clear. In Galeries' case, they had to make a last-minute change due to physical issues. Technically, they only listed one import.
"For Nxled, it's the same situation. They initially considered the Chinese player as their import, but it wasn't finalized, so they also recruited Meegan Hart. That's the import they preferred," he added, confirming the details as stated by the Highrisers to the press.
Malonzo also emphasized that teams are restricted from changing imports except under two specific circumstances.
"Our rules state you can't change imports unless two things happen. Number one, if the player gets injured during the conference, or number two, if there's an abandonment of commitment, such as if the player suddenly disappears, goes home, decides not to play, or leaves unexpectedly. Those are the only two reasons they can make a change. They can't replace an import just because they found someone better," explained Malonzo.
"The player who played earlier, that's final. It's a touch move, so to speak," he concluded.
