PUERTO Princesa City, Philippines – An underrated Letran duo barged into the semifinal round of the 2010 Petron Ladies Beach Volleyball Battle of the Champions at the Baywalk here.
Lady Knights Marie Rose Burce and Melissa Cu, who are playing in the shadow of their more illustrious teammates Marinelle Carolino and Gena Andaya, will join three other experienced teams in the crossover semis after they turned back Manila spikers Jill Gustillo and Chona Cabaral, 24-22, in a nip-and-tuck affair marked by nine deadlocks.
The 19-year-old, 5’7” Burce shattered the game’s last deadlock at 22-all with a smash from the net and a long return to the left side to secure the victory in the spikefest supported by Petron, Speedo, Mikasa, Fern-Slim and the city of Puerto Princesa City, which celebrated the 64th birthday of Mayor Edward Hagedorn.
The win – their third in three games – allowed them to join their schoolmates Andaya and Carolino, defending champion Jennifer Manzano and Satchel Senupe of La Salle-Dasmariñas and Ateneo standouts Asia Urquico and Jessica Morado in the semifinals.
Gustillo, a student of Adamson University, and Cabaral, who is from Philippine Christian University, arranged a showdown for the last semis berth with Burce and Cu after they prevailed over Perpetual Help bets Evarlene de Vera and Jenilyn Aquino.
“It was our hardest game. Mary Rose (Burce) and I had to make adjustments because it was our first out-of-town game,” said Cu.
They will clash with schoolmates Andaya and Carolino in the semis, while Manzano and Senupe will meet Urquico and Morado for the other finals slot.
Manzano and Senupe went on to sweep their four-game assignment in Bracket A after they pulled off a 21-10 demolition of Perpetual’s Aquino and De Vera and a 21-8 stopping of Puerto Princesa’s Len Clarianes and Clianne Dacuan.
Andaya and Carolino, who were runners-up in a collegiate volleyball tournament recently, emerged unbeaten after four games in Bracket B after they edged Urquico and Morado, 21-14, before toppling Puerto Princesa’s Cheryl Onda and Margaret Tabang, 21-18.
Urquico and Morado, bounced back from their loss to Andaya and Carolino with a 21-18 win over Puerto Princesa’s Siena Estrada and Roxanne Pontelo to finish second in Bracket B with a 3-1 record.
This two-day spikefest will serve as a qualifying round for the Summer Universiade in China, according to organizer Tisha Abundo, who got the approval of the Federation of School Sports Associations of the Philippines.