Sister act wins Petron volley title

CLARKFIELD, Pampanga – They’re pretty all right. But in the finals of the 2006 Petron Ladies Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Clearwater Country Club, Lanuevo sisters Genevieve and Jennifer found a different way to make heads turn.

The Lanuevos capped their two-day brilliance with a resounding 21-16, 21-17 verdict over Asian College of Science and Technology standouts Lorna de la Cruz and Chariza Castro to win the Petron volley title via an amazing six-game sweep.

Playing together for the second time in the tournament backed by Petron, Genevieve and Jennifer forced their rivals into a maze of errors at the net and at the backline in the final set to pull off the victory in the beach volleyball extravaganza also backed by Speedo (official outfitter), Asian College of Science and Technology, Clearwater Country Club and Mikasa (official ball).

With their foes from ACSAT ahead for the last time at 17-16, the 17-year-old Jennifer unleashed a placement shot to the middle to force the game’s final deadlock at 17-all .

Drop shots by the Lanuevos in the ensuing plays had De la Cruz missing the net with a short-range spike, allowing their foes to gain a two-point edge at 19-17. Genevieve’s service winner and a smash then enabled the Lanuevo sisters to finally deny De la Cruz and Castro a shot at the crown.

"Kapag may pagkakataon lang kami nagpa-praktis," said the dusky 18-year-old Genevieve, who is now an Aeronautics student at PATTS. "Magkaiba kasi kami ng school (Jennifer is a nursing student at the Philippine Christian U-Dasma) kaya wala kaming ibang chance na maging mag-teammate sa mga collegiate leagues. Dito lang sa Petron kami nagkakasama maglaro as a team."

De la Cruz and Castro earlier went through the full route of their twice-to-beat advantage as they bounced back from a semifinal first-game loss with a 21-19 win over Ace Dubiao and Sarah Gonzaga.

The semifinal victory posted by the two ACSAT standouts put them in the finals against the Lanuevos, who were the first to barge into the championship round following a 21-19 victory over Shiela Dumrique and Jessy Dumagat.

The Lanuevos took the lead early, 11-7, and kept their four-point edge until Castro scored with a service winner and Jennifer’s volley went beyond the backline, tying the count at 11-all.

They grabbed a 6-1 edge off Genevieve’s placement shot in the middle, turning the final phase of the contest into an uphill battle for De la Cruz and Castro.