Philippine Super Liga “Spike! On Tour”: Volleyball Rocks Cebu
GAMES ON WEDNESDAY (July 9th at the Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City)
2:00PM (W) Petron vs. Cignal
4:00PM (M) Systema vs. IEM
6:00PM (M) Cignal HD vs. Via Mare
It was already anticipated as a huge step in the right direction. Little did anyone know it would generate more than a humungous response.
The Philippine Super Liga (PSL) left the shores of Metro Manila for the first time since its inception and organized its first regular season double-header in the Queen City of the South as more than six thousand rabid fans filled the University of San Carlos (USC) gymnasium to get a glimpse and take in the action of the PSL All Filipino Conference featuring men’s division contenders Systema against Cignal HD while the distaff tiff showcased league-leading Petron against crowd-favorite Air Asia.
The twin bill was bolstered with the presence of perhaps the most popular volleyball practitioners in league with multi-awarded actor/sportsman Richard Gomez of Systema getting a majority of the shrieks from the locals. Gomez has made such an impact in the sport that he is the official ambassador of the game, as bestowed on him by the PSL.
For the ladies, Gretchen Ho—who is presently leading the annual Yahoo Awards’ “Hotlete of the Year” competition—was definitely Petron’s standard-bearer (as she is also the league ambassadress—while 6’2” rookie Din-Din Santiago was also among the focal points of the frenzied crowd. But two-time UAAP MVP Abigail Maraño and two-time UAAP Finals MVP Cha Cruz held their own as the spectators obviously knew them from their days at De La Salle University (DLSU).
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However, it was an Air Asia debutant that got the biggest ovation as former Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Housemate Michele Gumabao saw her first PSL action in nearly a year and, despite still not in competitive form, more than held her own against the tall frontliners of the Blaze Spikers.
"I'm hardly in shape now," the 21-year-old former UAAP Finals MVP confided to me via text messaging recently. "Since I got out of the (PBB) house, I've been at buffets. Hahaha!"
She still has a lot of time to rekindle her relationship with the sport that made her a bonafide superstar as the Cebu game is the last in the prelims for the Flying Spikers and will be seeing action anew in the playoffs beginning July 13th (Sunday).
Prior to gameday, the league held a special volleyball camp for the children of Gawad Kalinga Cebu with members of all four visiting teams spending a better part of the day with their newfound pals from the younger generation.
Cignal outlasted Systema in the opening clash 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 owing to an inspired performance from Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) stalwart Howard Mojica who came away with a game-high eighteen markers in the HD Spikers’ fourth victory in six outings. Mojica’s energy more than made up for the lackluster showing from MVP candidate Gilbert Ablan who could only garner two points.
The loss by the Smashers negated a brilliant showing the wing trio of John Depante, Myco Antonio and Mark Lee. Systema dropped to 3-3 and in solo third place behind Cignal and undefeated PLDT Home TVolution-Air Force (6-0). The match took over two hours to complete due to the titanic struggle between the protagonists.
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But when the women took to the floor, the atmosphere in the historic venue changed considerably. Audience members attest it was as if they were about to witness a championship basketball game—although this was just the tail-end of the PSL-AFC’s preliminary round.
Volleyball has become a breath of fresh air in indoor spectator sports in the archipelago and the “Spike! On Tour” sortie may open doors for many such provincial undertakings in the future.
“They brought a different aura when they got on court,” a fan exclaimed. “I’ve always watched them on TV, but seeing them live gave me goosebumps.”
All throughout warm-ups, fans made so much noise that many aficionados feared that they would all be hoarse when the actual match began. And the decibel levels increased even more when both Ho and Gumabao made their entrances as substitutes during the first set. But from the onset, the Flying Spikers had their game faces on and were out to accomplish a mission.
Cruz, the squad’s skipper, was relentless from the get-go and Maraño once again displayed the brand of leadership that has endeared her to her legions of fans. The duo combined for eight of the team’s thirteen total block points with Cruz even nailing a running attack by Santiago to have the crowd erupt anew.
The Blaze Spikers would eventually commit a series of errors to allow Air Asia to steal the first set, but came back more composed and aggressive in the second canto led by Santiago and fellow rookie Mina Aganon as Petron levelled things up by taking the second set.
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Air Asia fought fire with fire and started Gumabao at her native utility-spiker position and it became one of the catalysts for the hard-earned win. For the first time this season, the Flying Spikers looked like a complete and efficient unit in the third set as former DLSU starting setter Mika Esperanza took the reins and fed all of her attackers seamlessly. Cruz topscored for the Flying Spikers with nineteen points while opener Stephanie Mercado continued making a serious bid for a possible post-season accolade with a fourteen-point contribution. Air Asia prevailed 25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23 and the crowd at USC poured on to the court to celebrate with both teams after the successful tour. The match ended just four minutes short of the two-hour; the fans indeed got their money’s worth.
Santiago once again led Petron in scoring by finishing with seventeen markers, but the Blaze Spikers have now dropped their last two encounters after opening the season with a 3-0 mark. They complete their preliminary round by taking on the surging Cignal Lady HD Spikers on Wednesday as the action returns to the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
While Cebu has proven to have a zillion volleyball-crazy fans, the PSL has struck a nerve that could become a staple in the coming tournaments.
Volleyball has now reached national proportions in terms of its mainstream popularity and the stars of the sport are now more revered than ever. Known volleyball hotbeds like Bicol, Bacolod and Davao could become targets for future provincial invasions and the overflowing crowd at the USC gym could just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg. In the province, it may have to the point that basketball is now being rivalled.
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Kudos to the PSL, headed by its amicable and visionary commissioner Dr. Ian Laurel, the troopers of Solar Sports and all the people who had a hand in making history happen. I believe this is the first of a bigger evolution and volleyball is now the bomb.
BOXSCORES:
(M) Cignal HD (4-2) def. Systema (3-3) – 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-23
Cignal—Mojica 18, Sanchez 12, Abria 11, de la Cruz 10, Daquer 5, Diezmo 4, Ablan 2, Castel 2, Lansangan 1, S. Montero (L) 0, Clamor 0.
Systema—Depante 16, Antonio 13, Lee 12, Macasaet 8, A. Pareja 6, Honrade 2, Sto. Tomas 2, Gomez 1, J. Pareja (L) 0, Abdul-Wahab 0, Libay 0, Rojas 0.
(W) Air Asia (4-2) def. Petron (3-2) – 25-23, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23
Air Asia—C. Cruz 19, Mercado 14, Maraño 9, Laborte 8, Angustia 7, Esperanza 4, Gumabao 3, Gohing (L) 0, Macatuno 0.
Petron—Santiago 17, Morada 13, de los Santos 9, Aganon 8, Zapanta 7, Masangkay 6, Ho 2, Reyes (L) 0, del Mundo 0, Sta. Ana 0.
Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate) and email sportztackle@yahoo.com
