This year’s edition carries even greater weight and anticipation, building on the national team’s historic run in the recent World Championships, where they broke barriers and entered the knockout stages for the first time.
Leading the cast is defending champion Cignal, joined by fierce contenders Criss Cross, Savouge, PGJC-Navy, VNS and Alpha Insurance. Two guest teams – Kindai University of Japan and ProVolley Academy of Australia – are set to join the semifinals, promising high-caliber action and global flavor.
The local collegiate scene will also be well represented, with Far Eastern U-DN Steel, the reigning V-League Collegiate Challenge champion, completing the lineup alongside UST-Gameville, which replaces silver medalist De La Salle, which withdrew due to academic commitments.
“We always call the Spikers’ Turf as our happy place so tuwing nagsisimula ang Spikers’ Turf, meron lagi kaming happy place. Ito na naman start again and I hope it will be happier, this time lalo na nagkaroon ng resurgence of interest sa men’s volleyball,” said Spikers’ Turf tournament director Mozzy Ravena on Monday during the press conference at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas.
“From what it was before to what it is now, napakalayo na kaya very excited kami at very thankful na kahit papaano growing na tayo, ang dami ng interesado, pinapanood na tayo. My heart is full but may space pa, marami pang space, p’wede pang mag grow,” she added.
According to league president Alyssa Valdez, eight local teams will compete in a single round-robin. The top four will move on to the semifinals, where they will be joined by the two guest teams.
Another round-robin phase will determine the top two teams, who will then clash in a one-game championship match.
The third- and fourth-ranked teams from the semifinals will battle for the bronze medal.
The return of the tournament is perfectly timed, riding on the momentum generated by the Philippine men’s national team, led by Bryan Bagunas, who defied expectations in the World Championships last September.
“There is great momentum coming from the exploits of Alas Pilipinas so ‘yang momentum na yan, we will definitely build on that in providing the best coverage we could give for Spikers’ Turf,” said Cignal TV’s Sports Content head Mico Halili.
Catch all the action live on One Sports, One Sports+, and via streaming on the Pilipinas Live app and spikersturf.ph.
