A really busy year ahead for PSL

The Philippine Superliga (PSL) will be bringing back the Super Cup following its successful staging this year.

League chair Philip Ella Juico said over the weekend that the Super Cup served its purpose of raising the level of play of local players, so they are bringing it back before the league wraps up its season in December next year.

Based on the league calendar, the annual PSL Fans Day will kick off the season in the first week of February followed by the import-flavored Grand Prix, which will run until June.

Then, the PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup will be held late June followed by the first-ever PSL All-Star Weekend.

The All-Filipino Conference is set from July to October before the season-ending Super Cup in the first week of December.

Juico said the league is getting bigger and stronger than ever as star players like Aby Maraño, Rachel Anne Daquis, Mika Reyes, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat are getting more exposure in international play.

And the Super Cup aims to further hone their skills.

“Based on our proposed format of the Super Cup, the top three teams will face a guest team in a Grand Prix-style tournament,” said Juico, the former Philippine Sports Commission chair who also heads the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association.

“We are raising the level of play of local players by pitting them against quality teams from abroad. This is our contribution to the improvement of volleyball in the country.”

This year, the Super Cup was a massive success.

The league invited University of Tsukuba, the reigning champion in the All-Japan Intercollegiate League, and pitted it against the national women’s volleyball team and two PSL selection squads.

The Japanese emerged victorious, but the Nationals refused to go down without giving up a fight, leading to a very good performance in the recent Southeast Asian Games.

Juico said they are looking to invite a foreign team that is as competitive than the college girls from Japan.

“The more competitive, the better,” Juico said.

“Our goal in organizing the Super Cup is not just to win, but to raise the level of play of our players. So if we’re going to expose them to a team that is more competitive than the team that we last invited, it’s going to be good for Philippine volleyball.”