Here are some volleyball action photos during the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Finals Game 1 between Adamson and FEU last February 24, 2008 (Sunday). The Lady Falcons outlasted the Tamaraws in 5 exciting sets. Thanks to photographer Allen Aligam for contributing the photos. You can tell by looking at the photos that Allen has an eye for sports photography. He uses a Canon 350D DSLR and EF 100mm f2 lens. Sweet.

SEE ALL THE ACTION AT THE PHOTO GALLERY

Spoke with some UAAP officials and a REFORM of the current rules is in strong consideration. With volleyball gaining in popularity, management will take a serious look into the reorganization of the tournament. Kudos to that. Stuff like Regular season MVP and Finals MVP etc. etc. will be sorted out hopefully by next season, but for now, lets be happy with the players who walked away with the hardware.

A hearty THANK YOU to the supporters of Adamson University. When Charo Soriano and Mary Jean Balse received their awards, Adamson fans chanted their respective school cheers. (I was wondering where that “go usteeeh!” chant was coming from) Thank you very much for that wonderful display of sportsmanship. That gesture was flat out pure class. I hope others noticed it too and appreciated what you did. Thank You.

Also spoke with ABS-CBN officials regarding the lack of extended time of the men’s game after the allotted 6PM timeslot. The deal with the UAAP board and ABS-CBN sports was to air the women’s game; the men’s playoffs and championship series was just an added bonus. They will meet to see if they can extend another hour or so, since there will definitely be a celebration of sorts, but nothing is confirmed. (cross your fingers)

Yes its true that they extend coverage for UAAP Basketball games, but if you think about it, sponsors are 100 times more willing to give money to basketball than they are to volleyball (for now) so, sad to say, that’s just how it goes. With the way volleyball is growing though, that will soon change.

For those who are absolutely fuming about the lack of extension, well that was the deal. If you really want to see the games then go to the Arena and experience it first hand. Yes volleyball is a fast growing sport in the Philippines and there will be bumps along the way. The TV coverage being one of them.

MAY THE BEST TEAMS WIN ON SUNDAY!!!!

1. Can FEU-Adamson fill the stands? Okay, the ticket prices are a bit steep at the Arena for these games (100, 50, & 30) so are the fans willing to go and watch the games? Sure FEU supporters filled the arena admirably against UST, but with UST, it’s a near guarantee that the Arena will be filled to the rafters for championship games. Go ask San Sebastian.
2. Can FEU-Adamson maintain the same drama? Well, were gonna find out soon enough, but on paper anything UST adds pizzazz to almost any event. Can FEU emulate UST’s “win when it counts” swagger in this series?
3. No UST. Does it sound redundant yet? NO UST! The league’s top draw isn’t even in the championship game!! It’s a fact that big companies want big schools with big populations. Adamson obviously doesn’t compare to UST
4. Say goodbye to your stars. Reigning MVP Venus Bernal ended her UAAP career with a strong 24-point performance, so until there’s a pro league, we won’t be seeing her besides the v-league. Question, is it also Balse’s last year?
5. It’s a chink in the armor of the national team roster. By virtue of having the national coach and some of his core players be decimated by a team with half its roster of rookies, maybe it’s back to the drawing board for player selection.

Part 1 of Why UST’s Loss is Volleyball’s Gain can be found here

Yes, they are a tremendous team. Yes, they are the defending champs. Yes, they have the national team coach. Yes, they are armed with the most rabid volleyball fans in the country. And yes, they just lost in the final four, losing for the fourth time in as many games to their arch rival FEU, a team who just always has their number. But do not despair volleyball fans, this is only the beginning of something great. There are two sides to every coin and I will start with this one.

UST’s unexpected fall from championship contention is good for the sport of volleyball because of a number of reasons:

• We should expect UST fans to be stronger than ever after this. Support has gone to near-senseless proportions (no thanks to basher rooms) and you do not bet against a wounded tiger (pun intended) when the next season starts. Come V-League, the gold and black will be back with a vengeance.
• Like the mighty New England Patriots, losses are still newsworthy for great teams. Sounds of “UST lost” are louder than “FEU won” so the volleyball community and armchair analysts still have something to talk about. Casual fans know that UST lost, but the real volleyball fans have been won over by.
• Shaira Gonzalez. The rookie sensation had been consistently been thwarted by UST’s front line but shined when it mattered the most, garnering player of the game honors along with standout Rachel Anne Daquis. Meet the future.
• Parity. Either Adamson or FEU will be eventual champions, which supplants UST’s volleyball dominance by winning the past 3 major volleyball tournaments, namely the Shakey’s V-League in Dec 2007, the V-League again in July 2007, and the UAAP Season 69 in March 2007. With different teams winning, support from the different schools will grow tremendously as school pride and spirit will be major factors in spending.
• Rachel Daquis on center stage. Whether you agree or not, Daquis is the face of volleyball today. With all due respect to the other players who perform better than her, Daquis is the one getting corporate sponsorships, TV commercials, and all sorts of media attention. Isn’t that what we all want? An eventual pro league? It starts with these kinds of support, bottom line. Ask any corporate bigwig who has the power to fuel money into volleyball, and the answer will be Daquis.

To be Continued…

After 2 rounds of eliminations. As of February 10, 2008:

To avoid confusion, the results here show the team rankings after 2 rounds of elimination. As you can see, we have FEU and UST both tied with the same record of 13-1 for Men’s Volleyball. While Adamson, UST, and FEU are all tied with the same record of 12-2 for Women’s Volleyball. According to the UAAP rules, play-off games were necessary to determine the final team rankings. Of course, most of you guys know what happened during the play-off matches. Here’s a recap:

• For Men’s Volleyball: February 13, 2008 at the Blue Eagle gym. FEU defeated UST in 3 sets: 25-18, 25-21, 25-18. Best Scorers were Edjet Mabbayad of FEU with a total of 12 won points and Reny John Balse of UST with 8 points. Game duration: 1hour 10mins. With the win, FEU claimed the No.1 spot while UST settled for the No.2 spot. Both teams having twice to beat advantage going to the Finals.
• For Women’s Volleyball (play-off match#1): Feburary 13, 2008 at the Blue Eagle gym. FEU defeated UST in 4 sets: 24-26, 25-19, 25-15, 25-20. Best Scorers were Rachel Anne Daquis of FEU with a total of 18 won points and Mary Jean Balse of UST with 20 points. Game duration: 1hour 56mins. With the win, UST settled for the No.3 spot while FEU moved on to face Adamson for another play-off match.
• For Women’s Volleyball (play-off match#2): Feburary 17, 2008 at The Arena, San Juan. Adamson defeated FEU in 5 sets: 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20,15-12. Best Scorers were Rissa Jane Laguilles of Adamson with a total of 22 won points and Macaila Irish May Morada of FEU with 21 points. Game duration: 2hours 17mins. With the win, Adamson claimed the No.1 spot while FEU settled for the No.2 spot. Both teams having twice to beat advantage going to the Finals.

UAAP Volleyball Daily Bulletins

The team standings above are based on the official game results submitted by the game officials of the tournament. Spikeithard.com gets this data through UAAP Volleyball Daily Bulletins. All game details as well as current players / teams stats are compiled by the game officials through the UAAP Volleyball Daily Bulletin. You can download them in PDF format below.

As of February 10, 2008 (End of Eliminations):

• Men’s UAAP Volleyball Daily Bulletin #14
• Women’s UAAP Volleyball Daily Bulletin #14

GO TO DOWNLOADS SECTION TO SEE THE GAME SKEDS, LINE-UPS, AND MORE

As for the second match, Far Eastern University defeated National University in 3 sets: 25-11, 25-6, 25-10. Best Scorers were (#12) Jefferson Magnaye of FEU with a total of 11 won points and (#6) Joseph Parba of NU with 7 points.

Here’s some men’s volleyball action photos:

After watching the original UAAP TV commercial above, see this next one. Next page please: