The Philippine Superliga (PSL) recently finished its inaugural foray into beach volleyball Saturday afternoon at the Sands SM by the Bay in Pasay City. It was a widely successful event that helped push another facet of volleyball to the Philippine public: outdoor volleyball.
Tiebreaker Times had the opportunity to speak with the PSL President, Ramon “Tats” Suzara, about the turnout for the 2015 PSL Beach Volleyball Cup Challenge presented by Smart Communications and beyond, including the upcoming 2015 PSL Grand Prix.
The success of the Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup
Beach volleyball is another discipline of volleyball that was introduced to the wider public by the Philippine Superliga, in cooperation with TV5, a month ago. It was a ratings success and had a huge turnout in spectators. For Suzara, this is an excellent start for a program that will compliment the indoor tournament of the league. “This is one of our starting programs. Because of our partnership with TV5, we are expanding to beach volleyball at least once a year,” Suzara told Tiebreaker Times.
With the success of the tournament, the league is now looking to add another beach volleyball cup later this year. “Because of the demand now and the success of this tournament, we are now pushing to have more beach volleyball events,” he said. “I’m thinking of adding one more this December, because we are starting our indoor league on October 10 and will end after the first week of December. Immediately after our indoor baka magka-beach volleyball. December baka maganda na ang weather.”
Suzara, who is also the chairman for the Development and Marketing of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), deflected all the credit to the hardworking staff of the PSL, who ran the tournament well, even when the weather was unpredictable right from the get-go. Moreover, he thankful to those who believed in the PSL’s vision. “I’m very happy with the media [coverage] for the tournament and we are thankful to the spectators, our partner TV5, and the sponsors. It’s a good start,” he said with appreciation.
The PSL Beach Volleyball Cup Challenge also has caught the attention of SM President Hans Sy. He added that, “Mr. Hans Sy, the president of SM, was here, and he wants to continue and push through with beach volleyball as a new program for SM. I would also like to continue in partnering with them for outdoor and indoor [volleyball].” This commitment will surely help beach volleyball stars like Danika Gendrauli, Jane Diaz, Jade Becaldo, Hach Gilbuena, and others break into the mainstream beside their indoor volleyball counterparts.
Looking forward to the Grand Prix
Petron Blaze Spikers
The PSL will start the 2015 PSL Grand Prix on October 10. The PSL President told Tiebreaker Times that the tournament might feature eight club teams. “We had a meeting on Friday with the team owners. Now, we have six confirmed teams and we are expecting two more. So It will be eight club teams. We are just finalizing the other two in the next two weeks,” he said.
Besides the Petron Blaze Spikers, the Philips Gold Lady Slammers, the Foton Tornadoes, and the Cignal HD Spikers, the Meralco Power Spikers, and the Philippine Army Lady Troopers are reportedly set to enter the field.
The Meralco Power Spikers will replace the disbanded Shopinas Lady Clickers and will have Ramil de Jesus as head coach. Moreover, Cha Cruz and Paneng Mercado will be bannering the team together with student-athletes from the DLSU Lady Spikers. On the other hand, other players from the Shopinas Lady Clickers will move to the Cignal HD Spikers.
According to a report, the Mane ‘N Tail Lady Stallions will be replaced by a team that will have players from the Philippine Army Lady Troopers. The Lady Troopers last played in the PSL during the 2014 All-Filipino Conference and was sponsored by Generika.
The PSL, in order to provide a quality product, has already planned out their entire calendar for the next two years. However, as seen during the All Filipino Conference, it also coincided with various tournament from other leagues. “As you know, I appreciate na nagpapaliga sila to promote the sport. But I hope in the future there should be a cooperation. In the PSL, we have a fixed timetable for the year. Next year may timetable na rin kami,” Suzara expresed. “I hope that the other leagues adjust also. But whatever happens we move forward with our vision. Our club teams and owners have a firm stand on continuing.”
When asked about what the Filipino audience should expect for the second conference, the PSL President enthusiastically said, “well, PSL Grand Prix 2015, October 10, we call it the ‘blonde competition!’”
