Foreign squads are set to add spice and excitement for a bigger and bolder 2025 Shakey’s Super League (SSL).
League organizer Athletic Events and Sports Management Inc. (ACES) president Dr. Ian Laurel bared plans of hosting international squads to test the mettle of local teams in the first two tournaments of the SSL’s fourth season.
“We expect it to be a big year, 2025 because not only is it the 50th anniversary of Shakey’s here in the Philippines but we have generated a lot of interest from teams from other countries. They’ve heard about the Shakey’s Super League and they want to participate,” Laurel said during the turnover of cash incentives for the 18 teams that participated in the season-ending Collegiate Pre-season Championship on Wednesday at Shakey’s Malate.
Two teams from the United States have expressed their intention to join the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) while college squads from Japan and Australia will add a new flavor to the National Invitationals.
“There are inquiries from other countries on how to join. So, we really need to plan ahead, and that’s something that we should look forward to in 2025,” Laurel added.
Reigning SGVIL champion Adamson University will face a tough challenge protecting its crown in the season-opening tournament next year with a pair of American squads out to knock them off the throne aside from local opposition.
“We have two teams coming from California composed of Filipino-Americans interested to join the SGVIL. So, you could imagine how exciting it would be, high school level,” Laurel said.
On the other hand, National University, who completed a grand slam by ruling the National Invitationals and Collegiate Pre-season Championship, will try to protect its mid-season throne against a strong local field with the addition of Australian and Japanese teams next season.
“Then we have our invitational, one Australian team and one Japanese team will join. And of course, the Preseason, which is our flagship conference of the SSL, will still feature all the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) teams,” Laurel said.
Meanwhile, more than P13 million cash donations were distributed to all 18 teams that saw action in the Collegiate Pre-season Championship.
Arellano University got the lion’s share of the P13,936,050 cash collected through the Shakey’s Pizza SSL bundle, bagging a hefty sum worth P1,759,358 to help in its women’s volleyball program.
Jose Rizal University received P912,008 followed by College of Saint Benilde (P896,758), Letran (P855,908), Emilio Aguinaldo College (P814,008), San Beda University (P813,758), San Sebastian College (P730,458), Mapua University (P724,408), Adamson University (P718,908) and Ateneo de Manila University (P701,958).
University of the Philippines (P701,908), De La Salle University (P651,908), Lyceum of the Philippines University (P646,008), University of Perpetual Help System Dalta (P657,358), NU (P652,708), University of Santo Tomas (P616,808), University of the East (P536,058) and Far Eastern University (P528,758) round up the list of beneficiaries.