EST Cola star Papatchaya Phontham made history on Tuesday night after becoming the first player from a guest team to win the Most Valuable Player award in the Premier Volleyball League.
The 20-year-old opposite spiker earned the top individual honor after playing a key role in EST Cola’s championship run in the 2026 PVL Invitational Conference, which ended with a sweep of the Nxled Chameleons in the gold medal match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
EST Cola also joined an exclusive group as only the second guest team to capture the Invitational crown, following Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze in 2023.
Phontham entered the Finals as one of the tournament’s leading scorers, finishing the preliminary round second overall with 97 points from 84 attacks, seven aces and six blocks.
She also ranked third in spiking efficiency at 35.74 percent and fourth in service efficiency with an average of 0.37 aces per set, earning her the Best Opposite Spiker award.
Nxled’s Jonah Sabete-Escamilla and PLDT’s Savi Davison shared the Best Outside Spiker honors.
Davison topped the scoring charts after the preliminary round with 135 points and ranked second in attacking efficiency at 37.97 percent. She also averaged 0.65 blocks per set, good for sixth in the category.
The PLDT star was equally effective in the back row, ranking sixth in reception efficiency at 41.92 percent and seventh in digs with 3.00 per set. The award was her third All-Premier Team selection.
Sabete-Escamilla, meanwhile, finished fifth in scoring with 84 points while ranking fifth in both blocking, at 0.65 per set, and serving, at 0.35 aces per set. She posted the league’s third-best reception efficiency at 47.62 percent, earning her first All-Premier Team recognition.
Creamline’s Jaja Santiago-Minowa and Nxled’s MJ Phillips were selected as the Best Middle Blockers.
Santiago-Minowa, a two-time recipient of the positional award, ranked third in scoring with 92 points and led the tournament with 18 blocks. Phillips added 79 points for seventh overall and recorded 14 blocks, while earning her third All-Premier Team nod.
Nxled setter Gel Cayuna and PLDT libero Kath Arado completed the list of major award winners.
Cayuna secured her sixth Best Setter award after averaging 5.50 assists per set, while also contributing 27 points during the preliminary round.
Arado, meanwhile, claimed her seventh Best Libero honor after dominating the digging department with a tournament-best 5.70 digs per set. The next-best player averaged only 3.43. (Adrian Co)
