Cebu brings act to Shakey’s V-League
Friday, March 19, 2010
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CEBU champion Southwestern University (SWU) is dead serious to shock heavily-favored Metro Manila squads in the upcoming 7th Shakey’s V-League at the Arena in San Juan.
To validate the school’s moist eye for the crown, the current Cesafi (Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc.) queens have tapped the services of Thai spiker Piyatada Lasungnern to improve its chances in the league dominated by the country’s premier varsity teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Lasungnern, a standout of Thailand’s national team, saw action in the Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Tournament and the World Youth Volleyball Championships, joining power-hitters Danika Yolanda Gendrauli and Rafril Aguilar and another guest player for the title bid.
Aside from SWU, provincial teams that are ready to display toughness are University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and former three-time Cesafi champion University of San Jose-Recoletos.
“The team’s strength is on floor defense and service,” said SWU athletic director Ryan Aznar. “And having a guest player and a Thai import will be a big boost in our offense too.”
Aznar however admitted that the team is facing a tall order in defeating more experienced and more decorated teams in the 10-member tournament.
“I believe we have the materials to fill mix it up with these teams. But we also want to have our players gain experience and confidence in playing in the V-League,” he added.
Under the tournament format, the 10 teams will be divided into two groups and play a one-round robin eliminations with the top four squads from each group moving into the quarterfinals.
The Last 8 will again be grouped into two and play a single round with the top two teams in each group clashing in a pair of crossover semis.
Winners will then clash for the crown in another best-of-three affair.
The SVMGI and Shakey’s launched the event in 2004 to revive women’s volleyball which had its heydays in the early 90s.
Increasing awareness and providing venue for budding volleyball players are the tournament’s other goals.
The league opens shop on April 11 with playdates set on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays starting at 2 p.m. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
