MANILA, Philippines -- The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) on Tuesday announced that Akari Lighting & Technology Corporation is joining the league, bringing the total number of teams to 10.

"We are glad to welcome Akari to our PVL family," said Sports Vision president Ricky Palou. "It was three years ago when they first joined the PVL, supporting Adamson during the 2019 Collegiate Conference."

"They have been in volleyball for so long and it's good to see them go into the professional ranks," he added.

Akari started supporting the men's basketball, women's volleyball, and pep squad of Adamson University in 2016. Three years later, they backed the Lady Falcons squad that ruled the PVL Collegiate Conference.

"We are excited to join the PVL. For Akari, it feels like we are graduating college since we are entering the pros," said Akari sports director Russell Balbacal.

"For years, we have been supporting grassroots and collegiate teams. We feel like this is the right time to go a level higher."

Mozzy Ravena will be the team manager of the Akari squad. They are still in the process of recruiting players, with Balbacal saying that their directive is "to form the best team possible."

"We are out to form a championship-caliber team in the shortest possible time," he said.

Akari joins Cignal HD, Choco Mucho, F2 Logistics, Chery Tiggo, Black Mamba Army, Petro Gazz, PLDT, BaliPure, and defending Open Conference champion Creamline in the league.

The PVL is planning to hold an Invitational Conference in July before welcoming back foreign imports for the Reinforced Conference in October.