Sentidokomon

By Arnel Ambon
The St Catherine Summer Sports League 2009 in Limassol was concluded last 16^th August 2009 with the awarding ceremony of all deserving players and teams. Ceylon team, which is known as the Sri Lankan, retained the 2009-Volleyball Championship after a postponed final, which started on 02 August and finished on 09 August 2009. The sports league started with six volleyball teams namely Astrapi, Bibak, Ceylon Five Continents, Pinoy Mart and Western Union and the game format comprised of single round robin for the elimination round. Due to the minimal number of participating teams, the Olympic format with cross knockout in the semi-final and final was not employed. Teams Pinoy Mart and Bibak were eliminated after the round-robin games being the bottom two teams after the elimination round, the top four teams in order of rank were Western Union (winning all their round-robin games), Ceylon, Astrapi, and Five Continents. Team Western Union competed against the Ceylon for the 1^st and 2nd place while Astrapi and Five Continents played for the 3^rd and 4^th place respectively. The round robin games were dominated by Western Union team with a record of  5-0 (win-loss) followed by the Sri Lankan with 4-1. It was a close battle between the two teams and both went up to play in the finals. In the Championship games, the Sri Lankan gave all what they have got and unleashed their killer set and attacks coupled with floating serves. Western union defended heavily by blocking and digging the attacks but the Sri Lankan in the end dominated the game, winning the championship with 3-0 sets. Astrapi dominated Five Continents during their game for the 3^rd and 4^th place.    Here are the results and minor awards given to teams and individual players in Volleyball: Winner – Sri Lankan, Runner-up – Western Union, 3^rd Place – Astrapi and 4^th Place – Five Continents. MVP – Lakshika Muthumali (Sri Lankan), Best Player – Loida Asug (Western Union), Best Passer – Mary Ann Albores (Astrapi), Best Digger – Loida Asug (Western Union), Best Server – Mary Grace Reodica (Astrapi), Best Hitter – Lakshika Muthumali (Sri Lankan), Best Setter – Joy Montejo, Best in Sportsmanship – Team Bibak, Best Manager – Melanie Racaza (Astrapi).
Meanwhile, in the Basketball event, there were three competing teams. The game format initially was set to single round robin but due to the players’ demand, it was extended to double round robin. All the teams tied up after the double round robin and the tie breaker rule points quotient system have to be applied to get the team standing. Team Zen Room waited for the finals while team Kabayan and Ilocos King competed for 3^rd place. Ilocos King took the third place overall and team Kabayan competed with Zen Room with the best of three games for the championship slot. Team Zen Room eventually won the final games.

 Here are the results of the final standing and corresponding minor award in Basketball: Winner – Zen Room, Runner-up – Kabayan and 3^rd Place – Ilocos King. MVP was awarded to Rodel Ereneo of Zen Room team. Overall, the games have been conducted successfully without interruptions. There were some minor disagreements and clarifications concerning decisions of the referees but the players accepted the decision in a sportsmanlike manner. No yellow or red card was handed to any players in the volleyball team and no disqualification of players or teams have been applied. Special thanks to Parish Priest of St Catherine Church, to all the sponsors, volunteers and referees who have endeavoured to share their time. Most importantly, this sports league would have not been possible without the driving force and total dedication of the committee chaired by Ms Emelyn Sorilla. A big salute to them all.