‘Players most ready to play came out’

Old School’s Ko Kumuch meets Team Fresh Approach’s Steven Balakrishna in the net during the finals of the Agape Christian School’s Back-to-School Co-ed Volleyball Tournament last Saturday at the Agape Gymnasium along Middle Road. (Mark Rabago)

While it came a couple of teams short of its expected turnout, Agape Christian School’s Back-to-School Co-ed Volleyball Tournament was still a success, according to coordinator En Yang Pang.

He said it’s been a while since the local community had an indoor tournament especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, so in a way the BTS volleyball tournament was welcomed by the island’s volleyball community that have been waiting for months to see some action on the court.

“Most of the players on island are indoor players. So I wanted to put on something that people of the island are familiar with. It’s also partially to help the youngsters of the island to improve their game. A lot of them have potential. It’s just they don’t have the opportunity to play,” said Pang.

He added that the tournament was called Back-to-School Co-ed Volleyball Tournament because he wanted to invite players who are gearing up for their respective interscholastic leagues to use the competition as a warm-up.

“The theme is back to school because most of the schools are probably back one to two weeks. So, we’re using this theme because we’re trying to come back to the new normal and trying to get back to things we’re familiar with and by playing the game that everybody loves and that’s why they’re here.”

Ultimately, Pang said the Back-to-School Co-ed Volleyball Tournament served its purpose as the island’s top volleyball players came out in droves and it showed that the sport is truly back.

“By and large with the turnout. I actually hoping that there would be one or two more teams, but we work with what we have. This was the first time we raised the price of the entry fee a little but most people here are still happy to pay that price. I think this is a good turnout and the championship game was definitely a good one and I feel that the people most ready to play came out and showed what they got,” he said.

A total of eight teams took part in the tournament the three-day tourney, namely Skr Skr, New Kids on the Block, Ashes, Agape’s Yang Gang, Nothing But Net, The Big Ducks 2.0., eventual runner-up Old School, and eventual champion Team Fresh Approach.

The latter avenged its loss to Old School in the elimination round by winning when it mattered the most, 25-15, 25-22. The winning team was bannered by captain Bryan Chlarson, Steven Balakrishna, Jerome Manzon, Nilo Calimag, John Matias, Jerry Saures, Jasper Perez, Iszel Estevez, Kat Saures, and Alysa Baquilles.

Old School was made up of captain Mei Rengiil, towering Ko Kumuch, Yohei Iwashita, Nak Nakashima, Ryan Camacho, Typhoon Saito, Mike Omar, Ana Ina, and Nakashima Atalig.

Players from both teams received medals for finishing as the Top 2 teams of the Back-to-School Co-ed Volleyball Tournament.