PVL: Phontham credits EST Cola teammates after making MVP history

Papatchaya Phontham of Thailand’s EST Cola wins the 2026 PVL Invitational MVP. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Being the first overseas player to win the Premier Volleyball League MVP felt was a total team effort for Papatchaya Phontham.

Phontham attributed her PVL MVP honors to the whole EST Cola team, which swept Nxled,  25-22, 25-21, 25-19, in the winner-take-all final on Tuesday evening at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I have to praise the staff, the team, and all the younger players on the team, including the seniors,” said Phontham in Thai.

“Everyone on the team is a team player. If there weren’t everyone — no receivers, no setters — I wouldn’t have gotten the MVP, and I wouldn’t have gotten the awards. Yes, the awards belong to everyone.”

WATCH: Papatchaya Phontham and Natnicya Saelao on ruling the PVL. #PVL2026 | @LanceAgcaoilINQ pic.twitter.com/tOEacQVesn

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EST Cola became the second guest team to win the PVL Invitational Conference after Japan’s Kurashiki Ablaze in 2023.

The Thais, carrying their experience from the Volleyball Nations League, made a big leap from fourth place in 2024 to ruling the tournament with five straight wins after losing to PLDT on opening day.

“I feel so happy because this is the second time we’ve come to compete here. In the first round, the team was okay but we ended up with a ranking that wasn’t very good. But when we came back, we won the championship, and I also received individual awards, including MVP,” she said.

Phontham was also the Best Opposite Spiker. She was the No.2 Best Scorer with 97 points, third in spiking with a 35.74 percent attack rate and fourth in service with 0.37 aces per frame.

Phontham also had fun interacting with the Filipino fans.

“Here in the Philippines, the atmosphere is so amazing and impressive. There are so many fans, so I feel like I want to be a supporter of Philippine volleyball, too,” she said.