In line with SMART Sports’ mission to help develop the grassroots programs of Philippine sports, the group will launch an age-group tournament, SMART City Spike. The tournament will begin on Saturday, December 2, at Gold’s Gym Sheridan.
“This is connected with SMART City Hoops, our age group basketball league we started in 2015,” said SMART Sports chief Christopher Quimpo. “The success of it made us realize that we need to continue an ecosystem where the kids can play in an organized setting.”
For the inaugural conference, SMART City Spike will be divided into two divisions, under-13 and under-16. UPIS, St. Scholastica, Assumption College, and four other squads will compose the U-16 tournament, while five school-based teams have committed for the U-13 bracket.
Quimpo added that the vision for starting this league is to help develop and promote the grassroots level of Philippine volleyball.
“It has always been MVP’s [Manny V. Pangilinan] vision to help develop the grassroots program of Philippine sports,” Quimpo shared. “With this league, we plan to equip the young kids with the right equipment and play in the right facilities to equalize their development with their peers.”
To give the players an experience that they will cherish, SMART has partnered with Cignal Digital TV in this endeavor. For their part, Cignal will air highlights of the games on HYPER HD.
“Talagang apirational ang goal namin dito. We want to give them an experience that they will carry with them before they enter the big leagues,” Quimpo said.
“We want to provide the young kids with a volleyball experience like they never experienced before.”
