FEATI News

FEATI Men's Volleyball and Basketball Teams snare places in First ISAA Season

The very first year of the Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association (ISAA) proved to be a fruitful campaign for the Seahawks as they battled their way to the top of the overall rankings at the end of the Men’s Volleyball and Basketball campaigns.

Men's Volleyball

Volleyball Head Coach Christopher "Shoks" Anore and Team Captain Ricardo Acedo rallied their team throughout the season ending up at the 3rd spot in the overall ranking, behind Champion Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) and 1st Runner-up Philippine Women's University (PWU).

The men spikers had a good run in the first half of the season, advancing easily into the semi-finals after beating four other teams including fourth placer Manila Doctor's College (MDC).

However, the good run came to an end as the team's subsequent play was affected by injuries. Delays in schedule compounded the team’s woes.

"Bukod sa may mga injured kami, ‘overcooked’ na yung players. Nasa conditioning stage na kami nang ilang beses na-delay yung schedule ng laro. Nang nag-resume na ulit, lumampas na sa condition, (We had injuries and the players became ‘overcooked’ [past their peak] we were already conditioning our players when the games were delayed several times.  When the games resumed, the players were past their peak)," says Anore.

Anore, however, places high hopes for the team in the coming second season. He says they have been scouting for new recruits, some of whom are Pambansang Palaro fixtures, to replace some of the graduating members of the squad. In addition, they have been asked to join the Miranda Cup, a summer volleyball league which regularly features top teams from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).

Men's Basketball

Seahawks basketball also had a good run, eventually placing fourth, behind Champion LPU, 1st runner-up La Consolacion College Manila (LCCM) and 2nd runner-up PWU.

Similar to the setback encountered by the Men's Volleyball team, the dribblers also had difficulties coping with the injuries of their two centers, James Monsale and IC dela Cruz.

"Even if we had injuries, the team gave their best throughout the season," says Head Coach Louie Gonzales. The team had a chance to snatch third spot when it faced PWU in a twice-to-beat match. Gonzales says he is working on training the rookies, who now outnumber the veterans since most of them are graduating.

Both the Seahawk spikers and dribblers are optimistic in their bid for excellence in the second season of the ISAA. As both head coaches surmised, they will train harder in the off-season and will work harder to bring home the title in the second season. After all conditioning is the key to avoiding injuries and coping with delays. (KAL)

INTER-SCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (ISAA) SEASON 1 S.Y. 2009-2010