NAKATAKDANG palawakin pa ng mga organizer ang Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League (SGVIL) sa susunod na season matapos makapagtala ng pinakamalaking bilang ng kalahok ngayong taon.

Umabot sa 44 koponan ang sumabak sa pinakahuling edisyon ng liga, kung saan 20 ang naglaro sa Division 1 at 24 naman sa Division 2 — ang pinakamataas sa kasaysayan ng torneo.

Ayon kay Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc. (ACES) president Dr. Ian Laurel, maaga pa lamang ay may mga paaralan nang nagpahayag ng interes na lumahok sa susunod na taon.

“it’s just very heartwarming that as early as now, may mga schools nang nag-signify of their intentions to join next year. Which means it’s gonna be more than 44 next year,” ani Laurel.

Dagdag niya, patuloy ang pagtaas ng antas ng kompetisyon sa liga, bagay na nakikita sa pagiging bukas ng labanan sa bawat season.

“This year was really the biggest with 44 teams and the two divisions proved that the level of play’s getting higher and higher. As you can see in the four editions no team has won back-to-back championships which means it’s really tough to predict which team’s gonna come up with a strong lineup. But looking at the talents in the field, it’s overflowing,” aniya.

Bilang karagdagang tampok, ilulunsad din ang kauna-unahang SGVIL Invitationals na gaganapin mula Hulyo 11 hanggang 18, kung saan inaasahang lalahok ang mga koponan mula sa United States, Guam, Japan, China, at Australia.

“It’s still going to be by invitation pero di pa namin alam kung sino ang mga available teams by July. But definitely we would like to invite the top-tiered teams, like UST, Bacolod Tay Tung, even the other teams in Division 1. We’ll invite them and find out if their schedule would permit it,” ani Laurel.