INQUIRER Sports

THE REIGNING Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) women's volleyball champions Southwestern University (SWU) Lady Spiking Cobras will be going to battle in the upcoming Shakey's V-League with guns loaded.

This after, they have enlisted the sevices of Thailand national team member Piyatada Lasungnern to ensure their competitiveness when the country's most prestigious volleyball tournament opens its curtains early next month.

Lasungnern has seen action in the Asian Youth Girls Volleyball Tournament and the World Youth Volleyball Championships and is expected to bolster SWU's title bid against an equally-talented field.

The Cobras of head coach Joreem Yu and SWU athletic director Ryan Aznar are in for a treat as they are considered a Manila team after they replaced the University of the Philippines (UP) in the powerhouse field.

This includes University of Santo Tomas (UST), easily the team to beat this year after the Tigresses swept the twin titles last season, perennial NCAA champion San Sebastian and UAAP stalwarts Far Eastern University (FEU), Ateneo and Adamson.

Lasungnern is expected to be in the country on April 5 and will be in Cebu the next day. She will practice with the Cobras until the league opens on April 11.

Also seeing action in the tournament are St. Benilde and Lyceum and provincial teams University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and former three-time CESAFI champion University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJR).