Shakey's girls volleyball champs tourney up

MANILA, Philippines - Five teams will see action in the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Tournament of Champions which starts today at the University of La Salle gym in Bacolod City.

University of Santo Tomas (Metro Manila), University of St. La Salle (Bacolod), San Jose National High School (Tacloban), Pajo National High School (Cebu) and Passi National High School (Iloilo) make up the cast in the week-long tournament backed by Petron Treats, Toby’s Sports, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mikasa and Asic.

Drawing of lots will be held before the brief opening ceremonies.

Teams will play a single round-robin eliminations with the top two schools disputing the title in a one-game playoff.

USLS won the championship last year, ending the two-year reign of Hope Christian with a classic 26-24, 22-25, 23-25, 25-19, 17-15 win in the final game which took 2 hours and 10 minutes to decide.

Bannered by former national youth players, UST is slightly favored to rule the event, but the rest of the teams think it’s going to be a wide-open battle for the crown.

 “We heard UST is a tall and formidable foe and a favorite to win the crown,” said La Salle coach Maloy Lozada.

Shakey’s officials headed by general manager Vicente Gregorio, Barbara Ocampo and Coochy Mamaclay will be on hand to grace the opening and closing ceremonies.