Navy’s Laborte, Tabuena bag Petron beach volley crown

Philippine Navy’s Michelle Laborte and Cecille Tabuena played true to form and dominated Suzanne Roces and Abigail Escandor to cruise to a 21-10, 21-9 victory and claim the Petron Ladies Beach Volleyball crown at the Manila Baywalk last Sunday.

With Tabuena scoring on drop shots on a windy day, the Navy pair sped to a 10-4 lead in the first set and never looked back then the duo reasserted their supremacy in the second frame to complete the rout of the University of the East bets.

"The winds blew hard but we were prepared for this condition, having played on the seashores of Thailand," said Laborte, veteran of many Asian Championship meets with Tabuena.

Tabuena, who was raised in Joyao-Joyao, in Numangia, Aklan, kept her team on top in the second set with a pair of aces, 15-5.

The victory was worth P10,000 for Laborte and Tabuena, spearhead of the country’s bid in the sport in next month’s Southeast Asian Games, while Roces and Escandor settled for the runner-up prize of P5,000. The event, sponsored by Petron and held in cooperation with the Manila Sports Council (MASCO), was backed by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, PAGCOR, Toyota Pasong Tamo, Villa de Oro, ACSAT, Speedo (official outfitter) and Mikasa (official ball).

The Navy team took the easy route into the finals after trouncing Sherry Ann Garcia and Patricia Taganas, 21-12, in the semis.

Escandor and Roces made it to the finals by beating Rolyn Marquicias and Sheryl Laborte, 22-19, in a playoff.