By Kristel Satumbaga
The Philippine Superliga offers a double delight to volleyball fans when it hosts its first collegiate tournament along with the All-Filipino Conference.
The Collegiate Grand Slam fires off on Nov. 3 at the Ynares Sports Center and will be held mostly on Saturdays, while the All-Filipino hostilities fire off on Oct. 30 at The Arena in San Juan City and will be played on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Six teams will compete in the collegiate event that includes Colegio San Agustin-Biñan, University of the Philippines, La Salle-Dasmariñas, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East, and Far Eastern University.
Meanwhile, eight squads are entered in the All-Filipino, which comprise of F2 Logistics, Smart Giga Hitters, Sta. Lucia, Petron Blaze, Generika-Ayala, Cignal HD, Cocolife and Foton.
PSL Chairman Philip Ella Juico said hosting the league’s first collegiate tournament is aimed at “strengthening ties with the institution of higher learning.”
The league, now on its fifth year, is also a finalist in the Best Women Sports Event of the Asia’s Sports Industry Awards and Conference (SPIA Asia) where the winner will be announced in November in Bangkok, Thailand.
It is the first time that the country is nominated in the said awards where other finalists in the event come from Jordan, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Malaysia.
“It is a distinction that validates our hard work,” said Juico.
