Six teams clash in Shakey's girls tourney of champs

MANILA, Philippines - Six teams, led by defending champion University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, gear up for a showdown of regional champions in the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball League Tournament-of-Champions which fires off Monday in Bacolod.

The hosts open their title-retention campaign against the Pajo National High School side, which beat University of San Jose-Recoletos to top the Cebu regional elims, before an expected big crowd at the USLS gym.

Also vying in the grand finals of the eighth staging of the event, sponsored by Shakey’s, are Central Philippine University, Ormoc National High School, Davao National High School and Hope Christian High School, which lorded it over the field in the NCR elims.

The CPU tossers ruled the Iloilo qualifiers, while Ormoc NHS and Davao NHS reigned in the Tacloban and Davao regionals of the annual tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Volleyball Federation and organized by Metro Sports.

Bacolod is set to play two games on Monday, taking on Iloilo at 9:30 a.m. and then squaring off with Pajo NHS at 3:30 p.m. in the tournament backed by LBC, Toby’s Sports, Mikasa, Asics and Metro Sports.

Hope CHS, which stopped Angeles University Foundation, 28-26, 25-20, 25-21, in the NCR finals, battles Davao NHS, which toppled Ateneo de Davao, at 2 p.m.

Like USLS-Bacolod, Pajo NHS is also scheduled to play two games in the day as it collides with Ormoc NHS in the 11 a.m. second match of a four-game bill.

Format is a single round robin tournament with the top two teams slugging it out for the championship and the next two disputing third place honors.