Adamson lady Falcons score two wins to kick off Rider Sandals beach volley
The Adamson University Lady Falcons soared atop the standings of the Rider Sandals beach volleyball tournament after registering two consecutive victories yesterday at the Green Lagoon Park in Compostela town, northern Cebu.
The 18-year-old pride of Laguna Gema Galanza and 21-year-old Mylene Paat of Pangasinan made their first bid in the pre-activity of the 8th Ipanema Summer Sunscream Festeval with a thrilling 14-21, 21-12, 15-11 win over the hard-fighting University of San Carlos (USC) Lady Warriors pair of Aira Velasco and Debbie Gamboa.
The Lady Falcons later followed that up with an easy 21-10, 21-6 conquest of the hapless Compostela duo of Coleen Gemino and Diane Darantinao to take temporary solo leadership in the two-day event organized by the Phenominal 8 Event Horizons.
Still adjusting to their first venture at beach volleyball after originally playing indoor volleyball for the Falcons, Galanza and Paat dropped the opening set to the Lady Warriors.
Mylene Paat of Adamson dives for the ball as teammate Gema Galanza looks during thier game against USC.
But when Paat and Galanza were able to familiarize themselves with the sand court, there was no stopping the Lady Falcons as they used their edge in height and heft to impose themselves over USC.
Luzon’s reigning beach volleyball titlists and the Visayas’ reigning collegiate beach volleyball queens also toppled separate rivals in their respective opening matches.
The 2014 Cebu Schools Athletics Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) collegiate women’s beach volleyball champions Therese Rae Ramas and Floremel Rodriguez of the Southwestern University (SWU) Lady Cobras registered a straight sets victory over the pair of University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Lady Jaguars duo Badids Vergara and Paula Marie Maninang, 21-19, 21-8.
The Cebuana tandem of Cherry Rondina from Compostela and Cebu City’s Rica Rivera, who both starred in the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers’ blazing championship-snaring campaign in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s beach volleyball tournament and the 2015 Nestea beach volleyball tournament in Boracay also logged in their first victory after skinning Compostela’s Gemino and Darantinao, 21-9 and 21-12.
The J and J squad composed of Janelle Cabahug and Gerra Pacinio also joined the winners’ wagon after handing loss number three to Compostela’s Gemino and Darantinao, 21-12, 21-9.
Also tallying a victory in their opening match is the pair of former national team members Jusabelle Brillo and Apple Saraum of the White Sand Resorts team, which demolished USJ-R’s Vergara andManinang, 21-19 and 21-14.
UST’s Team B of Mandaue City’s Mary Dominique Pacres and Manila’s Jem Nicole Gutierrez joined the parade of winners after tallying their first victory at the expense of USJ-R’s Vergara and Maninang, 21-15, 21-13.
The rest of the games in the elimination round were still being played at press time.