FIVB Beach Volley World Tour success

MANILA, Philippines — Pinatunayan ng mga nasa likuran ng pagtatanghal ng FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open na kayang mag-host ng Pinas ng malaking volleyball events matapos ma-impress ang mga foreign teams at organizers.

Natuwa si Beach Volleyball Republic co-founder Charo Soriano na naging matagumpay ang hosting ng international beach volleyball tournament kahit first-time lang itong gawin dito sa bansa.

“I’m very much humbled and very happy. It’s was very fulfilling to see the number of people watching and the amount of support that we are getting for beach volleyball -- not only for the Philippine team but even for other athletes as well,” sabi ni Soriano.

 Sa harap ng mga dumayong beach volleyball fans sa Sands SM By The Bay, nakopo nina Japanese Ayumi Kusano at Takemi Nishibori ang kanilang unang World Tour women’s gold me-dal matapos ang 21-14, 21-18 panalo kina Maria Belen Carro at Paula Soria ng Spain sa finals.

Nakopo rin nina Max-Jonas Karpa at Milan Sievers ng Germany ang kanilang unang FIVB World Tour men’s gold matapos igupo ang Russian team nina Petr Bakhnar at Taras Myskiv sa kanilang 15-21, 23-21, 15-9 come-from-behind win.

Nagkaroon ng pagkakataon ang mga Filipino fans na makapanood ng world-class beach volleyball action sa apat na araw na one-star tournament.   

“Hopefully this is the start. This can be the catalyst for what we really want, which is beach volleyball to be here in the Philippines. And it’s a sport for the masses talaga. A sport that people can enjoy and that everybody can learn to love as well,” sabi pa ni Soriano.

Sa apat na Filipina pairs na inilaban, sina Sisi Rondina at Dzi Gervacio ang pinakamalayo ang narating na umabot sa quarterfinals.

Nakapasok sina reigning BVR national champions Karen Quilario at Lot Catubag sa round-of-12 at muntik nang makapasok sa top eight.

Dapat ipagmalaki ang narating ng dalawang Pinay teams, ayon kay Soriano.

“It’s a very momentous event, this one,” sabi ni Soriano na lumaro din kasama si Bea Tan. “First, because a lot of the Philippine teams really didn’t have programs prior to this event. We have BVR, we have regional tours, we have national championships. But in terms of having a proper national training pool program, it’s still non-existent. Napakasaya po kasi we are very proud of the rest of the Philippine delegation. Even though our men’s teams didn’t really win, you can really see that they were competent. They were competitive.”