The 2026 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference was the first conference of the 2026–27 Premier Volleyball League season and the fifth running of the Invitational Conference. The tournament ran from August 31 to September 8, 2026. This tournament is also part of a larger preseason which also included the 2026 PVL on Tour.
Thai guest team Est Cola swept the Nxled Chameleons in the final match to win the PVL championship, becoming the second guest team to do so after Japan's Kurashiki Ablaze in the 2023 edition. The PLDT High Speed Hitters rounded out the podium after defeating the Creamline Cool Smashers in the third place match.
Qualification Since 2024, the Invitational Conference is a conference where only a selection of PVL teams can compete against guest teams from other countries. For 2026, the four highest-ranked still-active teams from the 2026 All-Filipino Conference qualified for this conference. Those teams were the Creamline Cool Smashers (1st), PLDT High Speed Hitters (3rd), Farm Fresh Foxies (4th), and Nxled Chameleons (5th). The second place team, the Cignal Super Spikers, left the league during the off-season.
This conference's two guest teams are Ho Chi Minh City from Vietnam and Est Cola from Thailand. The debuting Ho Chi Minh City team had previously competed in the 2026 Shakey's Super League National Invitationals, fielding a roster of younger Vietnamese players, while Est Cola will make their second PVL appearance. During Est Cola's previous appearance in 2024, the team fielded a roster of under-20 Thai players and finished fourth in the conference.
The Philippine women's national team was invited by the PVL to take part in the conference. However, the invite was withdrawn after the league organizers were advised against it after learning about a FIVB regulations relating to national teams participation in club tournaments. Alas Pilipinas can only participate as a club under the name "All-Star Team of the Philippines".
Participating teams
Abbr. Team Affiliation Head coach Team captain CCS Creamline Cool Smashers Republic Biscuit Corporation Sherwin Meneses Alyssa Valdez FFF Farm Fresh Foxies Farm Fresh Philippine International / Strong Group Athletics Koji Tsuzurabara Louie Romero NXL Nxled Chameleons Akari Lighting & Technology Ettore Guidetti Brooke Van Sickle HSH PLDT High Speed Hitters PLDT Inc. Rald Ricafort Kath Arado EST Est Cola Sermsuk Public Co. Ltd. (Thailand) Wanna Buakaew Kantima Aekpatcha HVF Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City Volleyball Federation /National A-League (Vietnam) Trần Hiền Thi Kim Thanh Dang
Venue All games will be played at the Araneta Coliseum.
Quezon City Araneta Coliseum Capacity: 15,000
Transactions
National team players Players who have commitments with the Philippines women's national team will be excluded from taking part in this conference.
Format The following format will be conducted for the entirety of the conference:
Preliminary round The preliminary round is a single round-robin tournament, with each team playing one match against all other teams for a total of five matches. Teams are ranked using the FIVB Ranking System.
The top two teams will advance to the championship match while teams ranked third and fourth will play in the third-place match. Teams ranked fifth and sixth will play in the classification match.
Finals The championship (gold medal), third-place (bronze medal) and fifth place (classification) matches will be singular matches. The match-ups will be as follows: Championship match: 1st ranked team vs. 2nd ranked team Third-place match: 3rd ranked team vs. 4th ranked team Fifth-place match: 5th ranked team vs. 6th ranked team
Pool standing procedure First, teams are ranked by the number of matches won. If the number of matches won is tied, the tied teams are then ranked by match points, wherein: Match won 3–0 or 3–1: 3 match points for the winner, 0 match points for the loser. Match won 3–2: 2 match points for the winner, 1 match point for the loser. In case of any further ties, the following criteria shall be used: Set ratio: the number of sets won divided by number of sets lost. Point ratio: the number of points scored divided by the number of points allowed. Head-to-head standings: any remaining tied teams are ranked based on the results of head-to-head matches involving the teams in question.
Preliminary round
Standings
Results table
Match details
All times are Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8:00).
Final round Fifth place match
Third place match
Finals
Final standings
Rank Team Est Cola Nxled Chameleons PLDT High Speed Hitters 4 Creamline Cool Smashers 5 Farm Fresh Foxies 6 Ho Chi Minh City
Team roster Kantima Aekpatcha (c), Jiratcha Naoprachun, Nichakorn Wansuk, Natnicha Saelao, Serah Ankomah, Nattharika Wasan, Papatchaya Phontham, Waruni Kanram, Nannaphat Moonjakham, Wisaruta Sengna, Sasithorn Jatta, Ritwiset Chuleeporn, Supawadee Panwilai, Nirarach Srikuta Head coach Wanna Buakaew
Awards and medalists
This is the first conference in which the league didn't award a Finals Most Valuable Player, as only the Conference MVP was given out.
Individual awards Award Player Team Conference Most Valuable Player Papatchaya Phontham Est Cola Best Outside Hitters Savi Davison PLDT Jonah Sabete Nxled Best Middle Blockers MJ Phillips Nxled Jaja Santiago Creamline Best Opposite Hitter Papatchaya Phontham Est Cola Best Setter Gel Cayuna Nxled Best Libero Kath Arado PLDT
Medalists Gold Silver Bronze Est Cola Nxled Chameleons PLDT High Speed Hitters Head coach: Wanna Buakaew Head coach: Ettore Guidetti Head coach: Rald Ricafort
References