Friday, May 02, 2008 USLS spikers off to Shakey's V-League By Henry C. Villalva
REIGNING women's volleyball champion leaves for Manila at 10 a.m. Friday to see action in the quarterfinals of the ongoing fifth season of the Shakey's V-League Volleyball Tournament.
USLS varsity sports director and former Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) president Roger Banzuela said, the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports Cultural and Educational Association (NOPSSCEA) varsity women's volleyball champion University of St. La Salle, is one of two powerhouse provincial teams from the Visayas that will join the quarterfinals of the first conference of the V-League.
The other team is University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) of Cebu City.
Both USLS and USJ-R are quite familiar with the opposition in Manila, particularly league-leading Adamson University, since these teams have played against each other in several editions of the National University Games (UNIGAMES) here in Bacolod City.
Majority of the La Salle spikers were members of the Western Visayas Private Schools and Athletics Association (WVPRISAA) squad that topped the recent National PRISAA in Zamboanga City together with their counterparts from Iloilo schools.
The team was likewise coached by Banzuela.
Banzuela, who is retiring soon from USLS after having pioneered the promotion and development of both volleyball and beach volleyball in this part of the country, is the current head of the Negros Occidental Volleyball Association (NOTAFA) and president of the Beach Volleyball Association of the Philippines.
USLS and USJ-R will rely heavily on their familiarity with their Manila-based opponents as well as their exposure to regional and national competitions.
The USLS team is composed of Kay Aplasca, Loverich Jade Aplasca, Era Shane Celis, Laedy Cepeda, Sheryl June Denila, April Ross Hingpit, Je-an Ledesma, Patty Orendain (guest player), Sheryl Silva, Teresa Valdez, Realyn Valeriano and Marcelina Yandall.
