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SAN SEBASTIAN COLLEGE, runner up in the last three conferences,
begins its title campaign in the Shakey’s V-League against
newcomer College of St. Benilde on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan.
The Lady Stags, led by Led Rysabelle Devanadera,
Laurence Ann Latigay, Jinni Mondejar and guest player Suzanne Roces,
take on the Blazers at 4 p.m.
Ateneo de Manila University, whose solid roster
makes it another title-contender in the country’s premier
women’s volleyball league, meets Lyceum of the Philippines in the
2 p.m. opener.
University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and
University of San Jose Recoletos-Cebu complete the eight-team field
in the tournament supported by Active White skin whitening products,
Mail and More, ICT Call Center, Mikasa and Accel.
Gracing the opening ceremony starting at 1 p.m.
are Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping”
Cojuangco, Shakey’s Pizza President and CEO Leo Prieto Jr. and
General Manager Vic Gregorio, San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, Sports
Vision Chairman Moying Martelino and VP Ricky Palou, PSC
Commissioner Eric Loretizo, International Family Food Services, Inc.
and Shakey’s consultant Chukri Prieto, and tournament director
Tony Boy Liao.
Bituin Escalante, the 2000 Metro Pop Song
Festival winner, will sing the National Anthem.
San Sebastian, winner of the last three NCAA
titles, lost the crown to De La Salle University and University of
Santo Tomas in the last three conferences, including one to
Tigresses last December when they dropped a heart-breaking sudden
death match in five sets.
University of St. La Salle and University of San
Jose Recolletos won’t see action until the quarterfinals, when
they battle out the third to sixth teams in a single round robin
format.
The top two teams after the double round
elimination gain an outright berth in the semifinals while the two
squads that will emerge with the best record by the end of the
quarterfinals get to join the two seeded teams to the semis.
An incentive however, awaits the school that
wins three of its five games in the quarterfinals, earning it an
outright playoff for the second semis berth against the No. 2
team in the Final Six. The two teams then that survive the single
round semis get to advance in the best-of-three finals.
-- Krista M. Montealegre, TMTC
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