MANILA — High school student-athletes will be put to the test again in the 2026 Shakey’s GVIL Rising Stars Cup.
A total of 44 teams, including a guest squad from New Zealand, will duke it out in the fourth edition of the SGVIL, which opens on April 20 at the La Salle Green Hills gym.
This year's iteration surpasses 2025's 30-squad field, and will be bannered by National University-Nazareth School, which seeks a repeat title in the Division I.
READ: Breakthrough Shakey's crown caps glittering campaign for NU-Nazareth
Diverse Auckland Cub, the school from New Zealand, is set to spice up the second division, which has 24 squads.
“We’re continuing with having two divisions in the SGVIL. Since the establishment of the second division last year, more schools have approached us and expressed interest in joining the league. In fact, the teams have grown in number, record numbers. There are now 20 in Division 1 and 24 in Division 2, with a team from New Zealand joining as well,” said Dr. Ian Laurel, president of the league organizer Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc. (ACES) during the press launch of the tourney on Wednesday in Makati.
The Lady Bullpups will lead Pool A alongside King’s Montessori, inaugural champion California Academy, Lyceum of the Philippines Academy and Bethel Academy.
READ: NU-Nazareth outlasts Bacolod Tay Tung in 5-set epic for SGVIL crown
Three-time runner-up Bacolod Tay Tung, eager to redeem itself this year, headlines Pool B together with Canossa Academy, Holy Rosary College, University of Perpetual Help System-Dalta and Immaculate Conception College.
De La Salle-Lipa, Far Eastern University-Diliman, University of the Philippines Integrated School, San Felipe Neri Catholic School and St. John’s Institute joined Pool C, while Pool D features 2024 champion Adamson University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Chiang Kai Shek College, University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle Santiago-Zobel.
Meanwhile, Domuschola International School seeks to defend its crown in Division 2, joining Pool E's Miriam College, Corpus Christi School, The Beacon Academy, MGC-New Life Christian Academy and San Beda University.
READ: NU Nazareth, Bacolod Tay Tung arrange Palaro Finals 2.0 in SGVIL
In Pool F are Everest International Academy, La Salle Green Hills, Diverse Auckland Cubs, Saint Pedro Poveda College, St. Theresa’s College-Quezon City, UST-B; together in Pool G are Immaculate Conception Academy-Greenhills, Assumption-Antipolo, NU-Nazareth School Team B, St. Jude Parish School, CCF-The Life Academy and PACE Academy.
Gaining a share of high school exposure are Pool H's St. Paul College-Pasig, La Salle Zobel-B, St. John Institute Team B, Sacred Heart School-Ateneo De Cebu, Bacolod Tay Tung Team B and University of Batangas High School.
Matches in the preliminaries will be a race to two set wins in both divisions. All frames, including the deciding set, will be played up to 25 points.
Only two squads from each pool will proceed to the quarterfinal, while semifinal and final matches will be one-game affairs, played in a best-of-five setup.
Champions and runners-up from both divisions be invited to join the SGVIL Invitationals alongside a couple of US high school teams and a Japanese squad in July, another opportunity for triumphant high schoolers to be exposed to stronger competition.
Also announced in the media launch is a 15-percent discount for students of participating schools in Shakey's parlors.