The two Cebuano teams advanced to the playoff round in the 4th Asian Beach Games Men’s Beach Volleyball after scoring separate wins yesterday in Phuket, Thailand
The duo of Jade Becaldo and Loujei Tipgos defeated their opponents from Sri Lanka, 21-18, 8-21 and 15-11, to finish with four wins and two losses in Pool G.
The other Cebuano pair of Edward Ybanez and Edmar Bonono, the Nestea National Beach Volleyball Tournament champions, posted their own win by downing Pakistan, 21-10 and 22-20, to improve to 3-2 (win-loss) in Pool F.
The playoff round will start today.
Eric LeCain, beach volleyball consultant of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), said he was impressed with the way the two Cebuano squads performed.
“It’s a big surprise to me and for the other teams to see the Philippines winning so many matches,” said LeCain.
He said the game against Sri Lanka was a nerve-wracking one.
“The first set went very smooth. Becaldo was scoring at will. Though it was very close, the Philippines was still in control. Then in the second set, they (Sri Lanka) changed strategy and started serving Tipgos. We couldn’t score at all. Just error after error. It was very scary but in the third set, the team regrouped and started playing smart,” recalled LeCain.
In the other match, Lecain narrated: “Pakistan is a hard-hitting team. First set was all Edward and Edmar. They passed well and shot the ball well. But in all of its games, Pakistan lost the first set then came back in the second. The same happened against us. Pakistan was ahead for most part in the second set but two very good digs from Edward and they were able to pull away in the end.”
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
