“Spike for a Cause”: Philippine Super Liga’s benefit game for typhoon Yolanda victims
First off, I’d like to join the whole planet in saying a prayer and remembering the great Nelson Mandela. His efforts to change the world are often taken for granted, but the great man will always leave a lasting legacy. There will never be another Nelson Mandela. Rest in peace, sir.
Helping people to live better lives was one of Mandela’s mantras in a majority of his ninety five years of meaningful existence. Those who are still out to help those afflicted by typhoon Yolanda continue to make a difference in the lives of those who still need to find their feet again and the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) is now among those who are about to touch more lives.
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“Spike for a Cause” takes place on December 8, Sunday at 4:00PM at the league’s new home, the Ynares Sports Complex in Pasig City. It will feature a host of the league’s top players on the local front testing their mettle against the very same imports brought in to reinforce their respective squads. And while its main aim is to raise funds to help our brothers and sisters in Eastern and Central Visayas, it will also be a litmus test for the homegrown volleybelles to see if the transfer of technology they’ve experienced from our foreign guests has already rubbed off on their games.
Team SCORE (an acronym of SportsCore Event Management and Consultancy, Inc.)—the league’s organizing group—will have all twelve of the imports in their roster, while Team Solar Sports—the league’s exclusive television partner—will showcase the locals. Here’s how it breaks down:
Team SCORE
#1 Kaylee Manns (USA)—PLDT MyDSL
#2 Savannah Noyes (USA)—PLDT MyDSL
#3 Shinako Tanaka (JPN)—Petron
#4 Misao Tanyama (JPN)—Petron
#5 Yuki Murakoshi (JPN)—TMS-Philippine Army
#6 Wanitchaya Luangtonglang (THA)—TMS-Philippine Army
#7 Sontaya Keawbundit (THA)—RC Cola
#8 Zhang Minghua (CHN)—RC Cola
#9 Xie Lei (CHN)—Cignal HD
#10 Li Zhanzhan (CHN)—Cignal HD
#11 Wanida Kotruang (THA)—Cagayan Valley*
#12 Patcharee Saengmuang (THA)—Cagayan Valley
*Presently Injured
Celebrity Coach: Richard Gomez
Coaching Staff: Sammy Acaylar, Roger Gorayeb, Vilet Ponce de Leon
Team SOLAR SPORTS
#1 Tina Salak—TMS-Philippine Army (S)
#2 Chie Saet—Cignal HD (S)
#3 Lizlee Ann Gata-Pantone—PLDT MyDSL (L)
#4 Melissa Gohing—Petron (L)
#5 Bernice Co—RC Cola (O)
#6 Rachel Anne Daquis—TMS-Philippine Army (O)
#7 Danika Gendrauli—Cignal HD (O)
#8 Pau Soriano—Cagayan Valley (M)
#9 Gretchen Ho—Petron (M)
#10 Ivy Remulla—RC Cola (M)
#11 Aiza Maizo-Pontillas—Cagayan Valley (U)
#12 Suzanne Roces—PLDT MyDSL (U)
Celebrity Coach: TBA
Coaching Staff: Ronald Dulay, Rico de Guzman, Nes Pamilar
It remains to be seen if Team Solar Sports does tap a celebrity coach (rumors abound that broadcasters Mozzy Ravena, Noreen Go and Anne Remulla may join forces to handle the team). Also, Cagayan Valley’s Wanida Kotruang is “presently” nursing a right knee sprain and is listed as “questionable” for the semifinals tiff against the Lady Troopers, but that is still up in the air.
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There have already been a lot of fans questioning the cast of the locals as many say that some selected are not the best players in the league.
Just take note that this is a fund raiser and not a normal part of the PSL’s tournament process. If the PSL does eventually decide to have an All-Star game, then I’m pretty certain the fans will be involved in the player selection process.
What is also interesting for Team SCORE is that there is an abundance of outside hitters (O) yet only one legitimate libero (Yuki Murakoshi is still actually known in Japan as a setter), one legitimate middle hitter (M) in Savannah Noyes and only one legitimate utility-spiker in Shinako Tanaka of Petron. Let’s see how coach Richard Gomez works with this squad on Sunday.
Tickets for “Spiker for a Cause” are already on sale thru SM Tickets and will also be sold at the venue starting today (December 7th) and on the event itself. From what I’ve gathered, tickets are sold at PhP 150.00 for the lower level (which spills all the way up to courtside) and PhP 100.00 for the upper level. The Ynares Sports Complex can seat about three thousand audience members comfortably. The question is how comfortable will you be if you manage to purchase your tickets late—or if you can still purchase them at all at the rate they may be selling.
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The bottomline is that this is all for those who still badly need help. This will also be televised on a slightly delayed basis on Solar Sports, so for those of you who may not be able to attain tickets, you can still live the experience on TV.
So let’s all support this worthy endeavor the PSL has put together and watch the stars clash. See you on Sunday for this one, guys. I’m sure it’ll be spectacular.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
