THE Southwestern University (SWU) Lady Cobras pair of Floremel Rodriguez and Therese Ramas came up short in their title bid as they succumbed to the more experienced Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR-1) duo of Bea Tan and Dzi Gervacio in two bruising sets, 20-22, 25-27, in the final round of the 14th Paraw Regatta Women’s National Beach Volleyball yesterday at the JOE III Garden in Iloilo City.
Ramas and Rodriguez, who led the Lady Cobras to a rare four-peat in this year’s Cesafi, went on a tear at the start of the tournament, sweeping their elimination round assignments to finish with a 3-0 (win-loss) card.
The Lady Cobras continued to roll in the semifinal round. They survived a gritty University of Negros Occidental- Recoletos, 21-10, 10-21, 15-10, to set up a finals date with the BVR-1.
The searing run came to an end after the Lady Cobras suffered an endgame meltdown against Tan and Gervacio, the founders BVR On Tour, a premier beach volleyball league in the country.
SWU mentor Dave Arreza said experience played a huge factor as BVR-1 competes almost every month.
The two-day tournament drew eight teams from around the country, including the University of San Jose-Recoletos, which failed to make it to the semis after winning just one game in the initial round.