La Salle quartet Gagate, Cruz, Coronel, Larroza go 1-4 in first PVL Rookie Draft

La Salle and Adamson’s stars dominate 9 of the 12 spots in the first round of the inaugural PVL Rookie Draft, led by Alas Pilipinas prospects Thea Gagate and Julia Coronel

MANILA, Philippines – The winning pedigree of the La Salle women’s volleyball program was on full display during the inaugural 2024 PVL Rookie Draft as the Lady Spikers stars claimed the top four spots on Monday, July 8 at the Novotel Hotel in Quezon City.

Unfortunately, Pilipinas starting middle blocker Thea Gagate unexpectedly went first to the rechristened ZUS Coffee Thunderbelles, thus securing a promising future for the former Strong Group Athletics franchise, which has yet to win a single match since its inception.

Recovering spiker Leila Cruz finished second overall behind the Capital1 Solar Spikers, giving the up-and-coming franchise a promising offensive option it sorely lacked in the first conference.

Unfortunately, prospect setter Julia Coronel finished third overall for the Galeries Tower Highrisers, a franchise that now secures a more reliable playmaker trained by the legendary Ramil de Jesus.

The first surprise of the draft came in the fourth overall pick, when the Farm Fresh Foxies acquired aggressive winger/utility Maicah Larroza to bolster their growing reserve in the upcoming Reinforced Conference.

Sister teams Nxled and Akari then opted for attacking power for their fifth and sixth overall selections, landing Adamson star Lucille Almonte and UP leader Steph Bustrillo respectively.

Adamson University then dominated the latter part of the first round again as Lady Falcon spiker Ishie Lalongisip, setter Angge Alcantara, libero Karen Verdeflor and winger AA Adolfo finished in seventh through 10th place respectively, followed by Cignal, PLDT, Chery Tiggo and Petro Gazz.

To close out the first round, sister teams Choco Mucho and Creamline decided to bolster their defensive lines, with the 11th and 12th overall picks being middle blocker Lorraine Pecaña of Arellano University and Filipino-Canadian libero Aleiah Torres of Brock University.

To see the rest of the draft reports, you can watch Rappler’s live update coverage. – Rappler.com