The tandem of Floremel Rodriguez (right) and Therese Rae Ramas of Southwestern University pose with their coach Dave Arreza after bagging their second straight crown in women’s beach volleyball in the 21st Philippine University Games in Dumaguete City.
(Contributed PHOTO)
The Southwestern University (SWU) Lady Cobras got the job done as they successfully defended their title in the 21st Philippine University Games women’s beach volleyball finals on Saturday evening in Dumaguete City.
The Lady Cobras weathered a second set meltdown to hack out a 21-18, 19-21, 15-13 victory over the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) Lady Rams.
SWU, which also won the title in last year’s meet in Bacolod, found the Lady Rams a tough nut to crack after the latter tied the contest at one set apiece.
However, the veteran tandem of Cesafi MVP Floremel Rodriguez and Therese Rae Ramas, who have competed in the past editions of the Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) tournaments up north, proved too much for the Lady Rams as the duo keyed the champions’ hard-fought third set win.
SWU mentor Dave Arreza said teamwork and the familiarity between Rodriguez and Ramas played a crucial role in their back-to-back championship finishes as the team didn’t have enough training due to the ongoing Cesafi indoor volleyball tournament.
“For me, experienced na sila kay daghan na sila’g naapilan nga tournaments. Bisag wala ka training kaayo kay naay Cesafi,” Arreza said.
The tandem of Rodriguez and Ramas hopes to carry the momentum as they will be returning to the beach next month in the CESAFI beach volleyball competition, which opens on December 3.