La Salle-Dasmariñas bets make Petron volley semis

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle-Dasmariñas bet Iari Yongco, playing with a substitute partner, pulled off a surprise on the second day of the 2012 Petron Ladies’ Beach Volleyball Tournament’s third leg.

Yongco and Mariel Desengano, a last-minute replacement to Cindy Amutan, bounced back from a 13-21 loss to University of the East foes Jessica Paron and Krycel Cueva, with a 21-13 beating of Letran spikers Jan Carreon and Queenie Mondejar at the sand-courts of the UE-Caloocan campus.

Their fourth triumph in five games in Group A allowed them to join the unbeaten pair of Paron and Cueva in the semifinal round of this two-day spikefest supported by Petron and Mikasa Balls.

“Mabibilis sila at magalaw ang depensa nila sa harap. Pero kinaya namin ang susunod naming laro dahil gusto naming mag-finals,” said the 22-year-old Yongco, a tourism student.

Yongco and Desengano got off to a good start after they prevailed over AMA Computer University’s Sheila Fajardo and Jasmine Dario, 21-15.

Then, they came away with a 21-8 win over Philippine School of Business Administration’s Naomi Otoshi and Jona Abueg, before bowing to Paron and Cueva.

San Beda spikers Janine Marciano and Frances Molina emerged as their main opponent in the semifinals after the Red Lionesses  pulled off a four-game sweep of their elimination-round assignment in Group B.

Paron and Cueva, on the other hand, were paired off with Far Eastern University spikers Samantha Dawson and Bernadeth Pons in the other semifinal pairing.

Bedans Marciano and Molina, who had two wins on the first day, finished the group eliminations with two more victories – a 21-7 conquest of DLSU-Dasmariñas’ Iumi Tongco and Marra Galicia, before following it up with a 21-13 stopping of Dawson and Pons.

The Lionesses first had an easy time finishing off UE’s  Leuseth Dawis and Chelo Ramos, 21-9, and then survived a closely fought match with Trinity’s Carissa Martinez and Mary Paz Soteco, 21-19.

Winners and runners-up of the Petron volley circuit’s three legs will clash in the Battle of the Champions in the island paradise of Boracay later this year to determine the series’ beach volley grand champions.