That is precisely what the Cebuano sports buffs look forward to with the staging of the M. Lhuillier Developmental Volleyball League (MLDVL) men and women’s open tournament on April 28 at the University of the San Carlos (USC)-Main gym.
Eddie B. Ybañez, executive director of the organizing M. Lhuillier Sports Development Foundation (MLSDF), emphasized that being developmental in nature, the tournament is aimed at giving the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. volleyball athletes the necessary exposure preparatory for the regular CESAFI season later this year.
"We are holding this tournament to further hone up the skills of the CESAFI volleyball players. In that way, we can help them prepare for the regular CESAFI season and in other big leagues," said Ybañez in a meeting event with the different school representatives the other night at Whitegold House Restaurant.
Among those who attended the gathering were University of San Carlos vice president and athletic director Fr. Vic Uy, SVD, Southwestern University athletic director Ryan Aznar and University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) athletic director Edward Beronia.
Also present were coaches Thelma Datig of SWU, Grace Antigua of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), Raffy Briones of the University of the Visayas (UV), Norvie "Making" Labuga of USC, ex-USJ-R varsity player Mechell Matuguina and Kenneth Cinco of Hiroshi.
So far, a total of seven teams each in the men’s and women’s divisions have confirmed their participation in the one-month tilt.
Among the early registrants in the women’s bracket are USJ-R, USC, USPF, University of Cebu (UC), SWU, Hiroshi, and the MLSDF selection, while those which have already enlisted in the men’s class include UV, USJ-R, UC, SWU, USC, USPF and the Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT).
The group will again meet on April 10 still at the Whitegold House Restaurant to finalize the other details of the competition including the format and schedule of games.
Aside from school-based squads, the organizers will also be accepting commercial entries. There will be no registration fee required and the tournament is open to the public for free.
For further inquiries, one may call Coach Eddie at (032) 345-7892 and (032) 255-4423 or text at 0926-7319004.