Dela Cruz and Castro booked a third straight finals appearance following a 21-10 victory over Dafne De Borja and Lourdes Patillano in the semifinals yesterday of the third leg of the Petron Ladies Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Clearwater Country Club, inside Clark Airbase here.
The first two legs (at the Clearwater and at the Manila Baywalk) didn’t spell success for Dela Cruz and Castro, who bowed to better opponents in the finals.
But the two are getting better in each leg, though. In this third leg of the quarterly Petron series, the road to the semifinals proved easy as the duo pulled off a four-game sweep, including their 11-point shellacking of De Borja and Patillano on the way to the finals.
But Dela Cruz and Castro face a tall order in their championship showdown with heavy favorites Sheryl Laborte and Nerissa Bautista, who won the other semifinal game at the expense of Patricia Taganas and Trisha Quimpo, 21-12.
Laborte, a veteran of various tournaments in the Visayas, and Bautista, a national team member, are tipped to dominate this leg also sponsored by Speedo (official outfitter), Gatorade, Asian College of Science and Technology and Action and Fitness Magazine.
"Medyo mabigat po ang laban. Pero sana makalusot," said Castro, referring to their championship duel scheduled later in the day.
Castro and Dela Cruz’s concern is not unfounded.
The 5-foot-10 Bautista, easily the most formidable player here, is coming off a victory in the recent Bacolod Open, but with a different partner.
This time, Bautista is showing up with a new teammate in Laborte, but the winning streak continues as they likewise swept the elimination round, including the semifinals.
With Bautista manning the net and Laborte taking care of the rest, they raced to an 8-2 lead and were never threatened as Taganas and Quimpo hardly showed serious resistance.
The champion pair receives P10,000 while the runner-up takes P5,000, but more importantly, they get to earn berths to the national finals gathering past champions and runners-up of the meet.