CALAMBA, Philippines – Playing true to form, fancied Alabang Eagles dished out a dominating performance in the Cup final and walloped Clark Jets, 21-0, to go back-to-back in the 2016 JML Rugby 7s League at Southern Plains Rugby Complex here.

Greg Golman, eventual MVP Francis Tagalia and Jackson Pato took turns on the scoring end to provide the Eagles the cushion in their successful title defense in the premiere division of the Philippine Rugby Football Union tourney.

Golman put Alabang on the scoreboard three minutes into the match, breaking away in the right wing to reach home, and they successfully made the conversion for an early 7-0 margin. Tagalia grounded the ball in two minutes later, and Pato later converted for a 14-0 lead. Pato came through with another converted try late in the game to put the finishing touches to the win.

“Our goal was to improve every game throughout the tournament,” said Eagles and Philippine Volcanoes stalwart Jake Letts after another successful campaign. “This triumph is a big boost going to our next international tournament, the Cebu 10s, where we’ll be aiming to win for the fifth straight year.”

The CBRE Lady Mavericks also scored a title repeat over in the women’s division but they had to dig deep and rally past the Alabang Lady Eagles, 12-7. MVP Sylvia Tudoc and Leonor Boroy pulled through with a clutch converted try in the final minute to wipe out a 5-7 deficit and complete the Lady Mavericks’ come-from-behind triumph.

“We were determined to defend our title so even if we were trailing with time running down, we just didn’t give up,” said Tudoc. Trailing 5-7 following a converted try by Madille Salinas and Ada Milby, the Lady Mavericks unleashed a final stand and pounced on the opportunity. Jheeuel Idea drove and dished it to Geneieli dela Cruz who then fed Tudoc for the marginal try. Boroy later converted to seal the deal.

In other games, CBRE Mavericks B defeated Alabang Ibons, 10-7, for the Plate crown while CBRE Mavericks C crawled out of a 0-12 hole to beat Alabang Loros, 14-12, for the Bowl diadem and Albay Vulcans nipped Manila Carabaos, 17-5, for the Shield plum.

PRFU president Rick Santos, HMR’s Randell Carman, JML’s Steve Payne, and PRFU managing director Matt Cullen were on hand to witness the culminating day of the tourney that attracted a record 23 teams

​Source:

​http://www.philstar.com/sports/2016/10/30/1638725/alabang-eagles-down-jets-retain-rugby-7s-crown 

Over the last eight weeks The Philippine Rugby Football Union has been running the JML Rugby 7s League with 17 Men's and 6 Women's teams competing to play in this weekend’s Championship Finals. The JML 7s league finals will be played on Saturday, October 29 at Southern Plains Rugby Complex located at Silangan Exit, Laguna and will feature National players from both the Men's and Women's Volcanoes teams.

Rugby 7s is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and is enjoying an increase in popularity and awareness after its debut at the Rio Summer Olympics. This growth has been felt even in the Philippines with the number of clubs participating in the JML7s increasing from 18 in 2015 to 23 in 2016.

Rugby 7s is a fast competitive sport that focuses on teamwork, agility, speed, fitness and hand-eye coordination, National Team Coach Matt Cullen explains "Rugby 7s utilizes all the basic skills of basketball and has the added feature of tackling opponents. We keep unearthing young players who have exceptional talent that have grown up playing basketball, so they can catch, run, step and work together as a team. The big difference is that these young athletes also love the fact that they can tackle."
Coach Cullen states, "If you are basketball player that keeps fouling out out, then come and try Rugby 7s, you will love it!"

Teams from all over NCR like the Alabang Eagles, Albay Vulcans, Baguio Highlanders, Clark Jets and Subic Sharks have traveled to Manila each weekend to compete with Manila-based clubs such as CBRE Mavericks, La Liga, Makati Chiefs, Miriam College and QC Polytechnic University. All the club players compete with the aim of being selected in the 2017 National Volcanoes training squad.

This weekend will feature the top four teams in the Cup, Plate, Bowl, Shield and Women's Divisions. The Philippine Volcano Men's and Women's  National team players are spread among the teams and play alongside up and coming local Filipino athletes who have been learning the game over the last few years. Each club team must submit a roster of 12 players which allows for 7 starters and 5 subs each game.
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The Men's Division will see the Alabang Eagles attempt to defend their Cup title against formidable opponents including the Baguio Highlanders, Manila Nomads and the Philippine National Games Gold Medalists, the Clark Jets. The Women's Division is currently led by the CBRE Lady Mavericks who will battle against other close rivals including the Alabang Eagles, QCPU and Miriam College.
 
The Quarter Finals kick off at 11am while the Cup Division finals start at 2pm.  The awards ceremony will take place at 5pm. Those curious about the fast-paced sport of Rugby 7s and who wish to witness the National Team players compete alongside the best opponents in the county are welcome to watch the JML 7s Finals at Southern Plains this Saturday, October 29. Admission is free of charge.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Manila Nomads record their first win of the JML 7s League 2016, edging out the Clark Jets 10-5 in the final game of the day, last weekend at Southern Plains.

Clark Jets, renowned for their speed and agility, were overpowered by the force of Manila Nomads. Philippine Under 20s Volcano, Jonel Madrona, scored and converted an early try from a quick tap penalty on the Clark Jets 22 meter line. Nomads team captain, James Salter-Duke, replied a few minutes later with a try of his own, also from a quick tap penalty. After extending their lead to 10-5, the Manila Nomads were then able to hold off any threat that came from the Clark Jets and finished the day with a win. The Nomads and Jets are now level on points in the league table, however, Jets still place higher than Nomads, with a better points difference.
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Earlier in the round, the Quezon City Polytechnic University Ladies shone brightly as they beat Miriam College 20-0. Annaliza Esteban Galvizo played exceptionally, scoring a hat-trick of tries for the QCPU Ladies. The University side then gave the Alabang Lady Eagles a hard time and was narrowly beaten by a single try; 5-0 to the Lady Eagles.

The strong Alabang teams have byes this week and the rest of the clubs will be looking to capitalize on this in the last round of the JML 7s League before the finals at the end of the month. Both Eagles and Lady Eagles are too far ahead of the next best teams and will not change position in their respective league tables. However, CBRE Mavericks set their sights at topping the plate division and pushing the Alabang Ibons to second place. The Subic Sharks are likewise looking to chop down the Alabang Loros from second position in the bowl division.
Round 6 of the JML 7s League is this Saturday 22nd October at 6.00pm at Blue Pitch, Circuit Makati.

​MANILA, PHILIPPINES – CBRE Mavericks Rugby Club dominated round 4 of the JML 7s League, winning all games last weekend at Blue Pitch, Circuit Makati.


The CBRE Mavericks teams, playing in the Plate, Bowl and Women’s divisions, won all six games between them. National team representatives Bryan Tan, Rassiel Sales, Sylvia Tudoc and Lito Rameriz were by far the Mavericks best showing their class in their respective games. Ramirez, closed the show with a hat-trick in the Plate division pushing for re-selection into the Men’s National 7s Team.


It was La Liga Rugby Club however who were the story of the day, recording their first win of the competition, beating Quezon City Polytechnic University 12-0. La Liga RC, playing for the first time in a Philippine Rugby Football Union domestic league, have caught the eyes of spectators, showing some incredible skill and pace on the field. La Liga RC are showing improvement and look to cause some upsets in the play-offs at the end of the month.


Philippine Under 20s Volcano Jonel Madrona playing for the Clark Jets, shook the Cup Division by scoring the first try in both meetings of the Cup Division, but it was the Alabang Eagles responding with 27-5 and 17-5 wins over the Jets as they proved too stong over their competition to remain at the top of the standings in the Cup division.
Round 5 of the JML 7s League is this Saturday 15th October at 12.45pm at Southern Plains, Canlubang.

​Photo: Ro Chelle Mije Photography

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Makati Chiefs Rugby Club sit in second place of the Plate division at the halfway point after an impressive performance in round three of the 2016 JML 7s League.

Having previously lost to the Alabang Ibons during round 2 the Makati Chiefs are now on the hunt for top position. The Chiefs are trailing by three points in the League but have one more game to play to match their rivals on games played which will certaintly benefit in their favor later this season. The Chiefs won both games during round 3, first beating Manila Hapons 12-5 in a close encounter and securing a second win over the Albay Vulcans 19 to 12. They will however be without their captain and Philippine Volcano Justin Villazor Coveney for round four as it has been reported Coveney sustained an injury after last weekend.

The CBRE Lady Mavericks pulled off the upset of the round defeating the undefeated Alabang Eagles. In a closely fought out match it was Rassiel Sales who showed her speed which proved the difference as the Mavericks went on to outplay an experienced Eagles side winning 12 points to 10. Both teams are heavily stacked with Philippine National players, all playing for selection into the Philippine National 7s team to tour to Bangkok in November.
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Round 4 will see 15 games played this Saturday 8th October at 4.00pm at Blue Pitch, Circuit Makati. The Alabang Eagles will face off the Clark Jets in two matches in the Men’s Cup division. These games are expected to be nothing short of exciting as both teams possess great lineups and experience. Philippine Volcano Jonel Madrona will lead the way for the Jets up against his national team mates Timothy Bweheni, Jake Robrigado Letts and Gareth Dela Rosa Holgate for the Eagles. La Liga Rugby will look to return to their best after dropping both games in round three, they will play off against Quezon City Polytechnic University and Alabang Loros in the Bowl division. With four rounds remaining, the JML 7s leaderboard is still wide open.