Petron beach volleyball under way in Lingayen

LINGAYEN, Philippines – A new generation of players from De La Salle University-Dasmariñas are keen on stamping their class in the second leg of the 2012 Petron Ladies Beach Volleyball Tournament, which begins here today.

Newcomers Jennifer Zarate and Cherry Nunag will try to prove that they also have the spunk, which brought their more senior schoolmates to greater heights in previous years.

“We are taking it as a challenge, considering what senior and former members of the team have accomplished,” said the 19- year-old Zarate, a business operations management sophomore.

The two are expected to show their fighting form during the two-day spikefest, which will be held during the province’s annual celebration of the Pista’y Dayat Festival.

The sea festival, which is traditionally a thanksgiving festivity observed every April in Lingayen to celebrate the bountiful harvest and abundant fishing in the province, will provide a colorful backdrop to the tournament, supported by Mikasa Balls, Speedo and the provincial government of Pangasinan.

Zarate and Nunag are bent on following the footsteps of schoolmate Jennifer Manzano, a Pangasinense, who won the crown three years ago in the Pangasinan leg with Satchel Senupe, who was also a finalist in 2010.

DLSU-Dasmariñas bets – Yongco sisters Iari and Iumi, and their former schoolmates April Almaden and Wensh Tiu – may not be around, but participants from schools in Metro Manila, Pangasinan and Baguio are expected to also fight it out for top honors.

Rizal Technological U bets Julienne Abat and Jessa Aranda are expected to shine, along with newcomers from St. Benilde, Perpetual Help-GMA, University of the East, La Salle-Dasmariñas and Assumption.

Organizer Tisha Abundo said the big beach area fronting the Lingayen capitol is ideal for playing the game.