Alabang Eagles soar over the Clark Jets in the 2016 JML 7s League Finals

Timothy Kong of the Alabang Ibons being stopped by the CBRE Mavericks

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Alabang Eagles finished the 2016 JML 7s League undefeated, beating Baguio Highlanders 38-0 and Clark Jets 21-0 in the cup semi-final and final respectively.

Alabang Eagles proved to be a class above the rest, conceding only 36 points throughout the 7 weeks of competition. In the finals they outplayed the Highlanders and Jets and never allowed either team to get into the game, starving them of the ball. Alabang Eagle and Philippine Volcano, Jake Robrigado Letts shared, “its has been a great campaign for the Eagles, undefeated for the entire tournament. We will use this momentum leading into our next tournament in Cebu in November”.

The Albay Vulcans were able to seal a comfortable 17-5 win over the Manila Carabaos in the Shield Final. But it was the CBRE Mavericks that stole the show, beating their rival Alabang teams in the finals of the Plate, Bowl and Women’s divisions. Philippine Under 18 Volcanoes Bryan Tan, Wiremu O’Regan-Brown and Ryan Santos all showed glimpses of class but it was Santos’ younger brother and Philippine Under 16 Volcano, Reed Santos, that shone, earning him the most valuable player award for the Bowl division. The Mavericks won the Bowl final over the Alabang Loros by a single conversion, 14-12.
The Plate final was also a very close encounter. The CBRE Mavericks beating the Alabang Ibons 10-7. The strength and power of Alabang Ibons and Philippine Volcano players Christopher Hettel and Timothy Kong wasn't enough to counter the speed and agility of CBRE Mavericks and Philippine Volcanoes Alexander Aronson and Lito Ramirez.

With the final selections being made for the Ladies development tour to Bangkok in mid-November, the Women’s final was always going to fierce. This also finished very tightly, but yet again the CBRE Lady Mavericks just edged out the Alabang Lady Eagles by a single try, winning 12-7. Lady Volcano, Sylvia Tudoc was the stand out player, earning herself the most valuable player award and ticket to Bangkok.

“It has been an exciting finish to a busy domestic competition, it is amazing to see more and more homegrown players embracing and excelling in the sport. We now look forward to the international season starting in December for our National U19s playing Korea, Singapore and UAE,” states Jovan Masalunga, Rugby Development Manager of the Philippine Rugby Football Union. 

Sylvia Tudoc, JML 7s League Women's MVP, sprints to score for the CBRE Lady Mavericks