JADE Becaldo (left) and Rommel Pepito.
contributed
The Liloan Redline duo of Cebuanos Jade Becaldo and Rommel Pepito defeated the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) tandem of fellow Cebuano Kris Guzman and partner Anthony Arbasto — 21–18, 20–22, 20–18 — to claim the first Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) Men’s National Crown on Sunday at Sta. Ana Cagayan.
With their victory, both Becaldo and Pepito will be headlining the cast for the national beach volleyball team training pool which will compete in a Southeast Asian competition this September in Singapore.
“I was positive that they will win the title for the fact that they are both experienced in beach volleyball, and even though they are both veterans in the field, they still practice regularly,” said Liloan Redline head coach Joerem Yu.
Despite the loss, Guzman, a former University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) hitter, and Arbasto together with third placers Jeremiah Barrica and Kevin Hadlocon will be joining Becaldo and Pepito in the national team pool after finishing in the top three.
In the distaff side, the Southwestern University – Phinma duo of Floremel Rodriguez and Therese Ramas wasn’t able to slow down the Tagum–Philippine National Police (PNP) tandem of Karen Quilario and Lourdilyn Catubag, losing in the championship round, 21–7, 21–19.
Rodriguez and Ramas still made it to the pool after ending up as one of the top three performers together with the Quilario-Catubag pair and bronze medalists Erjane Magdato and Alexa Polidario of the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos.