LA SALLE is BACK!2 Visayas teams join V-League
By FRANCIS SANTIAGO
from Manila Bulletin
Two powerhouse Visayan teams will add spice in the volleyball wars as the first conference of the 5th Shakey’s V-League kicks off on March 30 at The Arena in San Juan City.
Champion teams University of San Jose-Recoletos of Cebu and University of St. La Salle of Bacolod will make their debut in the biggest stage of the sport where top squads from UAAP and NCAA strut their wares.
Tonyboy Liao, commissioner of the tournament, said they decided to invite teams from Visayas since "volleyball is very popular there."
"The two teams will surely make the games more interesting and exciting. And this is also our way of reaching out to schools outside Manila," said Liao, appearing alongside Sports Vision chairman Moying Martelino, Shakey’s general manager Vicente Gregorio and marketing director Meggie Jose in the weekly PSA Forum at Shakey’s U.N. Ave. branch.
Liao said the two teams, regular fixtures in the UniGames in Bacolod where UAAP and NCAA teams also play, will play only in the quarterfinals. They won’t play in the elimination due to logistical constraints.
They will match skills opposite back-to-back champion University of Santo Tomas, San Sebastian College, Ateneo de Manila University, Adamson University ,De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, Lyceum of the Philippines University and debuting College of Saint Benilde.
St. Benilde play for the first time in the tourney after Letran failed to make it in NCAA finals.
Martelino said the move to expand the league by including the Visayan teams was fueled by the overwhelming support of the fans in the past four seasons.
"In the past, Shakey’s had no following, but now we have great crowd. I think the fruits of our efforts are seen even in the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament which now warrants TV coverage," said Martelino.
Meanwhile, Jackelyn Alarca, La Salle’s ace player who was found ineligible to play in the recently concluded UAAP volleyball season, will be allowed to play in the tournament.
It would be recalled that the UAAP board punished La Salle after it found out that Alarca was not enrolled in the third semester of the school, making her ineligible to play. La Salle’s last four wins were cancelled as penalty.
"We will allow her to play since La Salle wrote to us. And in fact, she is eligible be part of the team since she played in the UAAP team last season," Martelino said.Meantime, Gregorio said he is grateful for the support the people has given to the sport and in their brand name.
"This is a social contribution. The popularity of the brand has given us much and we appreciate it," said Gregorio, adding that Shakey’s was awarded the 2007 Most Outstanding Filipino Franchise in food category.
The opening ceremony will start at 1 p.m.
There will be a single round robin in the elimination for the eight teams where the top two teams automatically clinch the semifinal slots while the last two eliminated. The remaining four will meet the Visayan teams in the one-round quarterfinals where the top two qualify in the semis.
The top two teams in the classification phase and the top two teams of the quarterfinals will play another single round for the placing in the final. The third and fourth placed teams will play a best-of-three for the bronze medal while the first and second ranked team will play for the best-of-three series for the gold medal.
