UST spikers to skip Shakey's League 5th season

MANILA, Philippines - Bad news to volleyball fans out there. The University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigress Spikers, champions in the last two conferences of the Shakey's V-League collegiate volleyball competitions, will no longer participate in this year's 5th season of the tournament. Acting head coach Cesael de los Santos, in lieu of the absence of long-time coach August Sta. Maria who suffered a stroke last Sunday night, said the team will no longer join the league that is set kick off hostilities this coming March 30 in order for the players to concentrate more on their studies. He added that they would also use the long summer break to re-organize a team hampered because of the injuries of star-players Angeli Tabaquero, Venus Bernal and 70th UAAP spiker-of-the-year Mary Jean Balse. De los Santos said their decision not to join the Shakey's V-League has the blessing of UAAP President and UST Athletic Director Fr. Ermito de Sagon. "Last week pa namin pinag-uusapan kung sasali pa ang team sa tournament. In the end, we decided that it's best for the team not to join the tournament," De Los Santos told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. "Burned-out ang mga players that's why we are not joining. Aside from that nagra-run conflict kasi ang tournament sa pag-aaral ng mga bata that's why we made the decision (not to join)," he added. De los Santos, who was once a member of the RP men's volleyball team in the ‘90s, also said that they will also concentrate their site on the upcoming 71st season of the UAAP volleyball competitions in December in hopes of reclaiming the women's title they lost last month. "Gusto rin namin i-focus ang training namin sa UAAP. I think magagawa namin yun kung hindi muna kami sasali sa V-League," he said. UST won the 69th UAAP women's volleyball crown last year, only to lose it this year when they were ambushed by eventual champions Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws in the Final Four late last month. With UST's absence, the league will be left with only seven teams, namely San Sebastian College, Ateneo de Manila University, Adamson University, De La Salle University, 2008 UAAP champs Far Eastern University, Lyceum of the Philippines and debuting College of Saint Benilde. Champion teams from the south - University of San Jose-Recoletos of Cebu and University of St. La Salle of Bacolod - will also 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." Liao said the two teams, regular fixtures in the UniGames in Bacolod where UAAP and NCAA teams also play, would play only in the quarterfinals. "The team won’t play in the elimination due to logistical constraints," he said. The Shakey's V-League's opening ceremony will start at 1 p.m. at The Arena in San Juan. 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. Teams landing in third and fourth place 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. - GMANews.TV