Spikers' Turf

Last updated

Spikers' Turf
Most recent season or competition:
2025 Spikers' Turf Open Conference
SpikersTurfnewlogo.png
Sport Volleyball
Founded2015
Founder Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.
First season 2015
DirectorMozzy Ravena
President Alyssa Valdez
MottoWhere Power Meets Passion
No. of teams6
CountryPhilippines
Venue(s) Various
Most recent
champion(s)
Cignal HD Spikers
(2025 Open)
Most titles Cignal
(7 titles)
Broadcaster(s) One Sports
Streaming partner(s)
Official website spikersturf.ph

Spikers' Turf is the top-level men's semi-professional volleyball league in the Philippines. The league was established in 2015 by Sports Vision Management Group, Inc., the same organization behind the women's Shakey's V-League and later the Premier Volleyball League.

Contents

The first running of Spikers' Turf lasted from 2015 to 2016 before it merged with the PVL in 2017 as its men's division. In 2018, it was spun off and the league was reestablished.

The Cignal HD Spikers are the current defending champions after defeating the Criss Cross King Crunchers in the 2025 Spikers' Turf Open Conference championship. With seven titles, Cignal is also the most successful team in the league.

History

The league had its beginnings in 2014, when the Shakey's V-League introduced a men's division during the 2014 Reinforced Open Conference. [1] [2] [3] The following year, Sports Vision decided to spin off the men's division as a separate league, giving birth to Spikers' Turf. [4] [5]

In late-2016, Sports Vision announced that the league be merged back in the 2017 season with the Shakey's V-League (which was renamed as the Premier Volleyball League; PVL). [6] [7] The men's division in the PVL ended with the 2018 PVL Collegiate Conference as its final tournament. Spikers' Turf was then revived on October 6, 2018 [8] and was reestablished as a separate legal entity from the PVL. [9]

In 2020, Spikers' Turf began the process to turn to a professional league, after the PVL was given professional status by the national government's Games and Amusement Board in the same year. [10] The league did not stage its 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [11] On March 16, 2021, Sports Vision president Ricky Palou bared that only three teams out of six - Cignal HD, PLDT and VNS - agreed to turn professional. [12]

Teams

These are the teams currently competing at the 2025 Spikers' Turf Open Conference.

2025 Spikers' Turf Open Conference
Abbr.TeamAffiliationHead coachTeam captain
ALP Alpha Insurance Protectors Alpha Insurance & Surety Company Inc. Flag of the Philippines.svg Mike Santos Edward Camposano
CHD Cignal HD Spikers Cignal TV, Inc. Flag of the Philippines.svg Dexter Clamor John Paul Bugaoan
CKC Criss Cross King Crunchers Republic Biscuit Corporation Flag of Thailand.svg Tai Bundit Ysay Marasigan
PJN PGJC-Navy Sea Lions Philippine Navy Flag of the Philippines.svg George Pascua Greg Dolor
SVG Savouge Spin Doctors Savouge Aesthetics Philippines Flag of the Philippines.svg Sydney CalderonHero Austria
VNS VNS-Laticrete Griffins VNS Management Group Flag of the Philippines.svg Ralph Raymund OcampoCharles Jordan Segui

Season format

Similar to the PVL, a traditional Spikers' Turf season is composed of multiple conferences. Since 2023, two are held each season – the first being the Open Conference and the second being the Invitational Conference. A conference is divided into two phases, the preliminary round and final round, the latter serving as the conference's playoffs.

From 2015 to 2016, Spikers' Turf conferences mirrored that of its then-women's counterpart, the Shakey's V-League. Alongside the Open Conference, the league also held the Reinforced and Collegiate Conferences. When the league merged with the rebranded Premier Volleyball League as its men's division, the conferences were held simultaneously.

Following Spikers' Turf's split in 2018, it has only hosted one or two conferences per season. In 2019, the league didn't host a Collegiate Conference. Instead, collegiate teams competed alongside corporate teams in the Open Conference. In 2022, only the Open Conference was contested after the Collegiate Conference was integrated into the relaunch of the V-League. As the league has yet to turn pro, it is possible for players to take part in both Spikers' Turf and the relaunched V-League.

Active tournaments

Defunct tournaments

Results summary

Open

SeasonChampionsRunners-upThird placeDetails
2015 PLDT Home Ultera Ultra Fast Hitters Cagayan Valley Rising Suns Philippine Air Force Airmen 2015 Open
2016 Philippine Air Force Air Spikers Cignal HD Spikers Sta. Elena Wrecking Balls 2016 Open
2017 see Premier Volleyball League
2018 Philippine Air Force Air Spikers PLDT Home Fibr Power Hitters Cignal HD Spikers 2018 Open
2019 Cignal HD Spikers Go for Gold–Air Force Air Spikers Sta. Elena–NU Ball Hammers 2019 Open
2020tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021
2022 NU–Sta. Elena Nationals Cignal HD Spikers PGJC–Navy Sea Lions 2022 Open
2023 Cignal HD Spikers AMC Cotabato Spikers Imus City–AJAA Spikers 2023 Open
2024 Cignal HD Spikers Criss Cross King Crunchers PGJC–Navy Sea Lions 2024 Open
2025 Cignal HD Spikers Criss Cross King Crunchers Savouge Spin Doctors 2025 Open

Invitational

SeasonChampionsRunners-upThird placeDetails
2023 Sta. Elena–NU Nationals Cignal HD Spikers Maruichi Hyogo 2023 Invitational
2024 Cignal HD Spikers Criss Cross King Crunchers Savouge Spin Doctors 2024 Invitational

Reinforced (c. 2015–2016; 2019)

SeasonChampionsRunners-upThird placeDetails
2015 Cignal HD Spikers Philippine Air Force Airmen PLDT Home Ultera Ultra Fast Hitters 2015 Reinforced
2016 Philippine Air Force Air Spikers Cignal HD Spikers Champion Supra Smashers 2016 Reinforced
2017 see Premier Volleyball League
2018
2019 Cignal HD Spikers Philippine Air Force Jet Spikers PLDT Home Fibr Power Hitters 2019 Reinforced

Collegiate (c. 2015–2016)

SeasonChampionsRunners-upThird placeDetails
2015 Ateneo Blue Eagles NU Bulldogs EAC Generals 2015 Collegiate
2016 Ateneo Blue Eagles NU Bulldogs UST Golden Spikers 2016 Collegiate
2017 see Premier Volleyball League
2018
2022 see V-League

Medal table

Inactive or former team
Guest or collegiate team

Awardees

Below is the table for the most awarded players in the league's history (2015–2016; 2018–present):

RankNameCurrent / Last teamPositionYears playing in Spikers' TurfMVP awardPositional awardTotal
FromTo
1 Marck Jesus Espejo Criss Cross OH2015present7613
2 Ysrael Wilson Marasigan Criss Cross OP2015present156
3 Alnakran Abdilla Air Force OH20152024235
4 Mark Alfafara PLDT OH20152019224
Bryan Bagunas Win Streak (Taiwan)OH2015202431
Peter Den Mar Torres Cignal MB2015202304
Manuel Sumanguid III Criss Cross L2015present04
John Paul Bugaoan Cignal MB2019present04

Notable records

Venues

The league's games are mainly held across Metro Manila, primarily on Paco Arena from 2019 to 2023. Recently, the games have dispersed again outside Paco Arena, with some playing outside the metropolis.

Media coverage

The league's initial broadcast partner was the People's Television Network in its first season. In 2016, it was handed over to ABS-CBN Sports+Action, the same broadcast partner with its former women's counterpart league, Shakey's V-League. This partnership with ABS-CBN continued as the Spikers' Turf merged with the rebranded Premier Volleyball League. Upon its separation from the PVL and re-establishment, Cignal TV became the league's primary broadcast partner in 2018.

With the rise of online streaming services, the live coverage of the games can be viewed via Cignal Play, Pilipinas Live app, and the league's official website.

See also

References

  1. "Spikers' Turf showcases best in men's volleyball". Manila: The Philippine Star. March 25, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  2. Payo, Jasmine (March 25, 2015). "Men's volley hits scene with Spikers' Turf April 5". Manila: Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  3. From the wires (March 28, 2015). "IEM Volley Masters head cast in eight-team Spikers' Turf volleyball tournament". Sport Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  4. "Cagayan, Champion clash as Spikers' Turf unwraps". V-League.ph. April 4, 2015. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  5. Villar, Joey (April 8, 2015). "Rising Suns dim Champion Infinity in Spikers Turf". website. Philstar. Philstar Sports Hub. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  6. Villar, Joey (December 27, 2016). "Shakey's V-League to rename to 'Philippine V-League'". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  7. Escarlote, Mark (March 29, 2017). "Sports Vision, ABS-CBN ink new partnership for PVL". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  8. Lopez, Mark Edward (October 1, 2018). "PVL: Spikers' Turf returns, fires off on October 6". Fox Sports Philippines. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  9. Agcaoili, Lance (November 14, 2020). "Alyssa Valdez the founding president of Spiker's Turf, reveals Palou". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  10. Agcaoili, Lance (November 12, 2020). "As PVL turns professional, Spikers' Turf set to follow suit". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  11. "Alyssa Valdez, now Spikers' Turf president, bats for resumption of men's league". ABS-CBN News. November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  12. Agcaoili, Lance (March 16, 2021). "Spikers Turf hits snag as only three of six teams agree to turn pro". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  13. Lozada, Bong (October 23, 2019). "Espejo unleashes record 43 points as Cignal bags Spikers' Turf title". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  14. Lozada, Bong (September 27, 2015). "Ateneo goes 13-0, sweeps NU for Spikers' Turf title". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  15. Villar, Joey (September 28, 2015). "Eagles whip Bulldogs, cop Spikers' Turf crown". The Philippine Star . Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  16. Mallari, Gab (March 31, 2023). "Cignal completes historic, undefeated run to rule Spikers' Turf Open Conference". One Sports . Retrieved September 8, 2023.