Champs get painful exit; FEU, St. Francis gain

New champions will be crowned in this year’s Nestea Beach Volley after Adamson and St. Benilde, the 2006 winners in the men’s and women’s divisions, were booted out yesterday at the close of the Luzon eliminations at La Salle Greenhills.

Adamson veterans Mike Alinsunurin and Sherwin Meneses lost two matches and took an early, unexpected exit in the men’s side while St. Benilde rookies Girly Quemada and Wena Miran never really got going and bid the women’s division goodbye.

"That’s it. We’re out. This is our last year here," said Alinsunurin after a painful 19-21, 16-21 loss to St. Francis of Assisi. Earlier in the day, the fancied Adamson pair fell to reigning UAAP champion Far Eastern University, 21-19, 16-21, 15-11.

With last year’s winners out of the picture, the spikers from FEU primed themselves up as possible successors as they dominated both the men’s and women’s divisions and towed the other qualifiers to the Boracay stage on April 19 to 21.

The FEU men’s team of Joshua Alcarde and Jeremy Pedregosa reached the Luzon finals with the big win over Adamson, then outlasted Eric Genil and Alvin Medina of reigning NCAA champion Philippine Christian University, 21-18, 22-20, for the plum.

The entries from FEU and PCU earned slots to Boracay along with Michael Manuel and Harold Pavia of St. Francis of Assisi.

In the women’s side, Wendy Semana and Lorelin Astorga of FEU raised a lot of eyebrows when they emerged victorious following decisions over UAAP titlist Adamson and Lyceum.

Semana and Astorga, lacking in height but not in heart, wore down Hannah Suarez and Rissa Laguilles of Adamson, 22-20, 23-25, 15-13, before stopping Sherrilyn Carrillo and Jane Jarin of Lyceum, 21-16, 21-15.

Joining FEU and Lyceum in Boracay was the Adamson which scored a lopsided 21-9, 21-5 win over Cathlea Villaluz and Arlene Bernardo of PCU later in the afternoon.

In Boracay, the winning pairs will receive P150,000 each while the victorious coaches will be awarded P50,000.

The Visayas elims will be held March 27 and 28 while the Mindanao stage is set March 29 and 30. The top three teams in the men’s and women’s divisions will join the Luzon qualifiers in Boracay.

Speedo, Mikasa, Villa de Oro Boracay, Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel, Boracay Gold Crowne Club, Microtel Inns and Suites Boracay, Hey! Jude @ D’Malll, D’Mall D’Boracay, La Salle Greenhills, Schering Plough Coppertone and Crystal Sand are this year’s sponsors.