Cebuano beach spikers James Buytrago and Rancel Varga. | PNVF photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu’s rising beach volleyball duo of James Buytrago and Rancel Varga open their World Beach Volleyball Pro Tour campaign in Cervia, Italy on Friday, May 17 (May 18, Manila Time) along with the rest of the Philippine beach volleyball team.
To recall, this Cebuano pair emerged as the highest achiever among the other Philippine teams in the Volleyball World’s Beach Pro Tour Futures hosted by the country last April in Nuvali, Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The pair reached the championship round but eventually settled for silver after losing to Czech Republic’s Krystof Jan Oliva and Vaclav Kurka, 21-16, 16-21, 13-15.
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This time, they will test their might against Czech Republic’s Krystof Jan Oliva and Vaclav Kurka in Pool B’s main draw later today.
Buytrago hails from Bantayan Island, while Varga is from Lapu-Lapu City.
Also, both Buytrago and Varga are awardees of the upcoming 38th SAC-SMC Cebu Sports Awards for their strong achievements in the international scene in 2023.
Besides Buytrago and Varga, the Philippines’ other pairs that will compete in Italy are Andre Joseph Pareja and Alnakran Abdilla, and Genesa Jane Eslapor and Mary Klymince Orillaneda.
Compared to Buytrago and Varga’s main draw competition, these two pairs are scheduled to compete in the qualification round.