Defending men’s champion University of Visayas and runners-up University of San Jose-Recoletos and University of Mindanao-Tagum, and women’s winner Central Philippine University-Iloilo, along with UMT and University of Santo Tomas, will compete anew in the inter-collegiate tournament.
Last year, UV’s Jade Becaldo and Mike Abria downed USJR’s Jade Illut and Jason Uy for the men’s title while CPU-Iloilo’s Jovelyn Gonzaga and Fiola Mae Ceballos beat UM-Tagum’s Lourdilyn Catubag and Karen Quilario in the women’s finals.
Gonzaga will now coach Ceballos and new partner Valerie Jen Amar.
The Manila and Luzon regional eliminations, with 64 schools like the Cebu leg, will be on April 5 and 6 at Laiya in San Juan, Batangas.
A total of 24 teams—six each from Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao—will clash in the national finals set in Boracay on April 18 to 20. The champion squads get P100,000 each.
“The competitions get tougher each year as the players improve with every tournament they join in,” said technical director Otie Camangian in Monday’s event launch at Legend Villas in Mandaluyong.
According to organizers, among the teams to watch out for is the new Southwestern University men’s pair of Rommel Pepito and Relan Taneo, the national Private Schools Athletic Association (Prisaa) champions.