The 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference is just two weeks away, and the cast of reinforcements is all but complete with eight of the twelve teams already bringing in their imports.
Spain’s Paola Martinez Vela, the US’ Anna DeBeer, and Belgium’s Helene Rousseaux are the latest reinforcements to be signed up, with Vela joining the Nxled Chameleons, DeBeer reinforcing the Zus Coffee Thunderbelles, and Rousseaux helping out the Farm Fresh Foxies.
Vela, DeBeer, and Rousseaux will be joining Cuba’s Yunieska Batista, Greece’s Eva Chantava, Russia’s Anastasila Bavykina, and the US’ Courtney Schwan and Anyse Smith. Batista, Chantava, and Bavykina will reinforce the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, Cignal HD Spikers, and PLDT High Speed Hitters, respectively. Schwan, on the other hand, will play for the Creamline Cool Smashers, while Smith will join the Choco Mucho Flying Titans.
A Strong Cast of Imports for the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference
Already, the current batch of reinforcements announced for the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference is looking like a solid cast that will bring plenty of international experience and national team pedigree.
Farm Fresh’s Rousseaux, in particular, ought to be a player to watch as she has been a longtime member of the Belgian national team and was part of the squad that won for Belgium a historic bronze medal in the 2023 European Championship. She is also well-traveled, having played in strong leagues in Turkey, Poland, Italy, and France.
PLDT’s Bavykina is looking like a potential game-changer, too, with her decades-long playing experience in Russia, which is considered among the top volleyball nations in the world. Cignal’s Chantava, who has played professionally in Italy, Turkey, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Romania, Brazil, Indonesia, and Japan, is someone Filipino fans are already familiar with as she helped Nakhon Ratchasima QminC VC win bronze at the AVC Women’s Champions League held at the Philsports Arena.
Chery Tiggo’s Batista is another player to watch out for as she hails from another strong volleyball nation in Cuba. In fact, she has played for the Cuban national team in major international competitions and has gained a reputation for explosiveness. Nxled’s Vela, meanwhile, brings extensive international experience as she has played in leagues in Spain, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Italy, and Cyprus.
Choco Mucho’s Smith should also be familiar to Filipino volleyball fans as she played alongside Chantava at Nakhon. Creamline’s Schwan is another young veteran, and she’ll bring notable club experience to the Cool Smashers after playing in leagues such as Serie A1 in Italy and Ligue A in France.
Last but certainly not least is Zus Coffee’s DeBeer, who is so far the youngest import brought in for the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference. The Kentucky-born DeBeer is just 23 and has been a pro for less than a year. But she had a decorated college career for the Louisville Cardinals in the US and could yet turn out to be the surprise ace of the 2025 PVL Reinforced Conference.
The 2025 PVL Reinforced Conferenc is set to begin on October 7, 2025.
