Fil-Am volley bets kick off Olympic bid in Canada

Like their lady counterparts Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua, the Fil-Am beach volley tandem of Christian Tuyay and Chad Mowrey are in hot pursuit of a berth in the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing as they are set to compete in the final 12 legs of the FIVB Men’s World Tour.

Philippine Volleyball Federation secretary-general Ottie Camangian said the world circuit serves as part of the qualifiers for the Summer Games with Tuyay and Mowrey kicking off their campaign next month in the Montreal Open slated July 4-8 in Canada.

“The PVF has officially entered the two to compete in the final 12 legs of the World Tour,” said Camangian. 

The duo’s trip would be funded by the Fil-American community, which is also backing Ilustre and Pascua’s Olympic bid, with support coming from the Philippine Sports Commission and the PVF.

From Canada, the RP pair will see action in the German Grand Slam Open from July 11-15 in Berlin before competing in the tough French Open in Marseille slated July 18-22.

The rest of their grueling schedule include stops in Gstaad, Switzerland (July 24-29), Klagenfurt, Austria (Aug. 2-5), Kristiansand, Norway (Aug. 8-12), Aland, Finland (Aug. 15-19), St. Petersburg, Russia (Aug. 29-Sept. 2), Jablonki, Poland (Sept. 5-9), Fortaleza, Brazil (Sept. 26-30), Acapulco, Mexico (Oct. 24-28) and Bali, Indonesia (Oct. 31-Nov. 4).

Mowrey has actually played for the country with then partner Eric Schnor but failed to snare a medal despite landing in the semifinals in the 2005 Manila Games where Ilustre and Pascua came away with bronze medals.

Tuyay, a former University of Hawaii setter, replaced Schnor.