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THE
Shakey’s V-League unveils its fifth season on March 30
with a promise of another blockbuster conference that
has marked the last two stagings of the country’s
premier women’s volleyball league at The Arena in San
Juan City.
Far
Eastern U, Adamson and perennial title contender San
Sebastian College (SSC) loom as the teams to beat in the
upcoming tournament featuring eight squads, including
two of the finest collegiate volley powers from the
south, whose presence is expected to further generate
interest in the popular league.
“We
expect another banner year for Shakey’s V-League in
terms of action and gate attendance,” said Moying
Martelino, chairman of the organizing Sports Vision.
“After
four seasons, the league has established itself as a
crowd drawer next to the PBA [Philippine Basketball
Association] following record-setting fans in the finals
of the last two conferences.”
The
sudden decision by UST and
La Salle, which shared six Shakey’s V-League titles between themselves, to take a
leave of absence has forced the organizers to reformat
the conference, but the eight competing teams are
expected to provide the thrill and excitement that have
been the trademarks of the league.
“We
think the Shakey’s V-League will still be exciting. We
have two teams from the Visayas and the UST and
La Salle mainstays may be available as guest players for the other
teams,” said Shakey’s V-League operations director Ricky
Palou.
“The
recent UAAP finals, which drew packed crowds, proved
that teams like FEU and Adamson can also lure fans to
the games. It is the quality of games that matters and
Shakey’s V-League prides itself to showcase top-level
volley action the last few years,” said Martelino.
Joining
FEU, Adamson and SSC in the league are Ateneo, College
of Saint Benilde and Lyceum and two Visayan squads—the
University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJR) and University
of Saint La Salle (USLS)-Bacolod.
The
entry of the USJR and USLS-Bacolod is tipped to further
stir up interest in the league as Visayan fans are
expected to come in droves to support their
provincemates the same way the Cebu-based Mama’s Love
did to the Philippine Basketball League in the ’80s.
The move
to bring in the two college teams from the Visayas
underscores Sports Vision and Shakey’s Pizza’s mission
to promote and develop the sport of volleyball and give
it a mainstream appeal.
Under
the revised format, the six Metro Manila teams will slug
it out in a two-round elims with the top two squads
gaining outright semifinal berths. The last four teams
will be joined by the two Visayan teams in the
quarterfinal round, a single-round phase where the top
two teams will advance to the semis. |
