Cavite, Philippines - The Albay Bulkans clinched the 2022 Globe 7s Series Luzon - National Development Division leg 3 title on Saturday, 8 October 2022, at Philippine Rugby's home ground, the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite. The Bulkans finished their domestic 7s season with a thrilling golden try finals win against a fierce La Liga 1 side. This spirited Bulkans side aimed to finish strong this season after their 5th place finish in leg 1 and a 4th place finish in leg 2. Bannered by a number of players from their u19s program and mixed with a couple of Philippine Rising Stars players, the team finally found the winning formula for their long-awaited championship in the Luzon league. It was a collective team effort for the win, with a lot of the younger players stepping up. Club founder and player-coach, Ric Raymond Bellen, got injured prior to the finals. However, it served as an additional motivation for his young teammates, who already had to endure a 12-hour overnight van ride from Albay to Cavite just to compete on the day. Tournament MVP and former Tuloy sa Don Bosco standout, John Frits Copino, led the team with his playmaking skills and vision. Joeben Belda's defensive pressure during the extra time led to the Erwin Manjares' golden try which secured the championship for the team. Final score was 19 - 14 for the Albay Bulkans. "It was fitting finale to the National Development Division as two very strong teams with great development programs squared off in the finals. Hats off to both teams - their coaching & management staff, players, and supporters. It was great to see a lot of our homegrown players competing at this level." - shares Acee San Juan, General Manager of Philippine Rugby.
The next round of games for Luzon is scheduled this weekend, 15 October 2022, for the Colts and Juniors Festival at British School Manila in BGC, Taguig City. The third and final leg of the Open & Women's Divisions will be at the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite on 22 October 2022. Cavite, Philippines - The third and final leg of the 2022 Globe 7s Series Luzon - National Development Division will kick off this weekend at Philippine Rugby's home ground, the Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub. Five teams from leg 2 are back to compete for the leg 3 title, with SKF Makati Mavericks poised to win the overall season NDD trophy from their back to back festival wins on legs 1 & 2. With Clark Jets unable to field a team this weekend, the Manila Tarsiers have taken the 6th team slot for the leg 3. The Tarsiers team is from the Manila Nomads Rugby Club, and will compete alongside their fellow clubmates, the Manila Kalabaws. This is a testament of the growth and development of the oldest rugby club in the country, the Manila Nomads Rugby, which started with predominantly expatriates members. The La Liga will once again field 2 teams for this upcoming leg and will look to finish strong this season. With a young group of players being coached by Andy Brown of the National teams program, and mentored by former Philippine Volcano Paulo Jordan, expect a motivated La Liga side to give a fierce challenge for the top spot for this leg. Another team to watch out for this leg is the young Albay Bulkans squad. Most of the Bulkans came from their u19s side and on its first year of senior competition. Led by veteran Ric Bellen, the Bulkans will be extra motivated to continually improve from leg 1 (5th place) to leg 2 (4th place) and learn as they compete against the best homegrown players from the country. These passionate Bulkans squad also travel 10 to 12 hours from Bicol to Manila just to compete in the domestic competitions, It will be a full day of rugby on Saturday and we invite families, friends, and supporters to come and cheer for their favorite teams. Guests and participants must complete the Health Declaration form upon entry. Matches will also be streamed live via the Upstream Sports TV Facebook page and the Philippine Rugby page. See you all on #SaturdayIsRugbyDay! The Philippine national rugby teams will begin their final preparations for the Asia Sevens Series. The series will be contested by the top eight teams in Asia, boasting heavy weights Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and more. The Volcanoes will compete across a packed schedule over the next eight weeks, preparing for three international events traveling to Thailand, Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
The Men’s team, sponsored by Globe Telecom and JML Philippines will welcome in new Head Coach Darryl Suasua. Suasua brings in a highly experienced background from New Zealand. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be involved with the Volcanoes and feel honoured to be in this coaching role. Being part of the Asian 7s series is a challenge that I really look forward to. I was involved in the series when it first kicked off. There is a unique flavour to the style of rugby played in the region and I’m excited to be involved and hopefully contribute to a successful campaign” shared Suasua. Suasua will be assisted by experienced former National Sevens Captain Jake Robrigado Letts. “I am excited to take a more active assistant coaching role this year, previously I looked after the program in the background but standing beside Darryl and learning from his coaching philosophy will be very valuable and hopefully my experience with the players can be beneficial to our preparation” Letts added. The women’s team will be led by their 2019 silver medal SEA Games coaching staff Fetala’i Taua’a and Andy Brown. Brown and Taua’a have been working alongside each other for both the 15s and 7s national rugby programs and have their biggest challenge ahead, competing against the top teams in Asia across three tournaments. This years series will be the first since 2014 the women’s program have qualified in the back-to-back format. "We're really excited to have the opportunity to play at the top level of Asia again. We've got our challenges but we're focused on rebuilding and are very positive about putting out competitive performances." Taua'a explained. Coach Brown has been instrumental preparing the locally based players and feels optimistic with the reinforcements coming in. "Locally we have been training for a few months now and it's been going well, we look forward to having the extended squad brought together to bring our training up another level". A training squad of nineteen men and seventeen women have been identified by Philippine Rugby to push for final selection into the touring twelve for Leg 1. Legs 2 and 3 to Korea and UAE will have a number of players also become available for national duties. The team will be supported by the Philippine Sports Commission as they begin their final preparations for the series. The 2022 Asia Sevens Series will be sanctioned by Asia Rugby as played across the following dates and locations: Round 1: Thailand on October 22 and 23 Round 2: South Korea on November 12 and 13 Round 3: UAE om November 25 and 26 |
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