MANILA, Philippines - Instituto Estetico Manila, which ruled the inaugural Shakey’s V-League men’s crown late last year, braces for a tougher challenge from a bigger, deeper field this time when the first-ever Spikers’ Turf is fired off April 5 at The Arena in San Juan.
The Volley Masters pulled through against the Systema Active Smashers in the decider of a sudden death to top the four-team Shakey’s field but will be hard-pressed to duplicate the feat with seven other squads joining the upcoming men’s league presented by PLDT Home Ultera.
In fact, Renz Ordonez, Rudy Gatdula and Eden Canlas have moved to their mother team Cagayan Valley, leaving IEM without three of its former stalwarts. But head coach Ernesto Balubar remains upbeat of their chances as he pins his hopes on Jason Canlas, Karl Ian dela Calzada, Jeffrey Jimenez, Carlo Almario and Michael Conde.
Backstopping the team are Reyvic Cerilles, Evan Raymundo, Salvador Timbal, Guarenio Gianan, Jophius Banang, Carlo Cabatingan, Ivan Bacolod, Areem Tamayo and Kirk Biliran.