May 2 , 2008

Bay Area Telugu Association (BATA) organized it's 2nd Annual Volleyball Tournament on April 26, 2008 at Encinal Park Sunnyvale, California. BATA raised over $1500 from this event towards funding “India Literacy Project “ (ILP).

Due to the overwhelming response from last year, this year the format was changed to have 2 levels "Advanced" & "Intermediate" for Men's group. There was also a group for Women. In total 33 teams participated in this event.

The format of the tournament was round-robin fashion in the initial rounds and top 2 teams in each group advanced into the quarter finals. The teams participating varied from volleyball teams that have played together for several years to friends/colleagues that formed a team for participation in the tournament. This mix of teams resulted in some exciting and colorful matches. Most of the matches were very closely contested affairs with several matches resulting in ties or matches being decided with a differential of the points. The audience enjoyed several nail biting finishes with huge spiking and returns.

In the Women’s group there were 5 teams (VB Daisies, Sparkling Girls, BayArea Bhamalu, Ortega Park, Jalsa Girls). The top 2 teams (VB Daisies & BayArea Bhamalu) made it to the finals. VB Daisies won the finals in 2 sets.

In Men’s Intermediate group HPD, Bay Strikers, SJ Spikers & HBH Jalsa made to the Semi-finals. HPD won a close contest on Bay Strikers and made to the finals.

In the finals it was a real close contest between SJ Spikers & HPD. SJ Spikers won the first set and when every one thought they will lift the trophy, HPD came back very strongly & won the next 2 sets. HPD was the Intermediate group winner.

In Men’s advanced group Fair Oak’s (w), Ardenwood Spikers, Santa Clara & Fremont VB Spikers teams made to the Semi-finals. Fair Oak’s(w) and Santa Clara won convincing victories and entered the finals. Although Santa Clara was the clear favorite, Fair Oak’s didn’t allow them to feel comfortable & certainly out played them in all aspects of the game.

In all the matches players exhibited their skills and style with huge spikes and returns resulted in long rallies. Fair Oak’s (w) won the finals in 2 sets.

The committee and volunteers of BATA put in a lot of time and effort in organizing the tournament and ensuring all matches were conducted in time. The event was sponsored by Precious Dental Care of Fremont (Volleyball Kits & Balls), trophies were sponsored by Mrs.Vijaya Aasuri on behalf of her parents Mrs.Vasantha garu and Satyanarayana Nookala garu, and lunch was sponsored by Raman Sanchula (Peacock Indian Restaurant).

At the conclusion of the tournament Ravi Thiruveedula (BATA president) appreciated Shekar Peparthi, Srini Mangipudi, Prasad Mangina & Karun Veligeti for organizing this successful tournament. Ravi Thiruveedula also thanked all the sponsors for their support. Subhash (ILP) thanked BATA team for their continued support.

BATA committee Ravi Thiruveedula(President), Prasad Mangina (Vice-President), Srilu Veligeti (Secretary),Srini Mangipudi (Joint Secretary), Srinivas Kolli (Treasurer), Vijaya Aasuri , Ramesh Konda, Sireesha Bathula, Kamesh Malla, Venkat Malladi, Karun Veligeti, Veeru Vuppala, thanked all the volunteers for working hard and making this a successful event.

Results of BATA-ILP Volleyball Cup 2008:

Women :
Winner – V.B Daisies
Runner Up - BayArea Bhamalu

Men (Intermediate Group) :
Winner - HPD
Runner up - SJ Spikers

Men (Advanced Group):
Winner - Fair Oak’s(w)
Runner up - Santa Clara.