Last August 23, 2008, our group in Ateneo, who plays every Tuesday and Saturday, used the very MVA 200 Mikasa ball now being used in the Beijing Olympics. We are proud to say that we were the very first volleyball aficionados here in the Philippines to play with it, since Sonia trading is not yet selling it commercially. We were able to acquire it when one of our regular players, Dr. Bayhon, went to Bangkok and requested him to purchase two Mikasa balls for our group.

After the first round eliminations, San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) women’s and San Beda College (SBC) men’s volleyball leads in the standings of the 84th NCAA Volleyball competition. Both teams are now enjoying the final four race without losing a game. Colegio San Juan de Letran, 83rd NCAA men’s champion, are second in the standings with a 8-1 (win-loss); only loss was to SBC in the 1st round. The 2nd round eliminations began last August 12, 2008 and will end on September 6, 2008. The final four will be starting on September 9, 2008. Here is the 84th NCAA Volleyball Second Round Eliminations game schedule:

I came across this website that you can watch the preliminary volleyball games in Beijing Olympics. You will see the new Mikasa MVA 200 ball used in the games. Here is the website- www.volleyball-video.com. Enjoy watching the games.

As part of promoting the UAAP Juniors Volleyball, I decided to interview players from the Ateneo de Manila High School, since as most people said, they, together with the University of the East High School are the favorites this year to make it to the Finals.

Other than watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics on TV and following the games on the net, here are some collegiate basketball and volleyball games to watch out for this week. Taken from the Multiply blog of sports writer Mr. Theodore Jurado:

UPDATE: You can download the game schedule over here.

Wondering what the hell does “legitimate week-end warriors” mean? Basically, it refers to former top-notch volleyball players from the RP Team, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, Shakey’s V-League, and college varsity volleyball. These are legendary local volleyball players who probably have families of their own by now and are suffering from arthritis due to old age. But can still kick some volleyball ass. For the upcoming Volle 650 Season 5 mixed volleyball tournament, the organizers amended the Eligibility rule to slightly favor the inclusion of such players.

In lieu of these changes, as well as to give leeway for more teams to join, registration period will be extended until August 15, 2008.

Once again, I was invited by fellow Spikeithard folk, Beezy, to watch a one day league at Calzada Covered Court in Taguig. Despite the heavy rains, the volleyball addict in me decided to go and watch (again) the excitement street volleyball has to offer. After rendering overtime work in the morning, I rushed to Taguig to catch the games later in the afternoon.

The tandem of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won this particular tourney. Photos were taken by kababayan Conrad Castelo, a talented photographer who resides in Chicago.