Saturday, July 26, 2008 Negrense, partner picked in beach volley tourney
VETERAN Negrense spiker Sheryl Laborte and her new partner Nerissa Bautista are considered the pre-tournament favorites in the third leg of the 2008 Petron Ladies' Beach Volleyball Tournament, which got going Friday at the University of the East (UE) Caloocan campus in Manila.
Laborte, a multi-titled champion who now coaches Miriam College, won the event last year together with Jenny Torres but is now teamed up with the 5'11" University of San Agustin-Iloilo standout Bautista.
A holder of many titles in the Petron circuit, Laborte is hungry for another title after having been absent for eight months in the circuit, which organizer Tisha Abundo started six years ago.
Organizers pick stiff opposition to come from Hannah Suarez and Angela Benting of Adamson University; Ateneo University's Asia Urquico and Jessica Morado; as well as Sharah So and Pepi Sison, among others.
The winners and runners-up in the event will earn outright slots to the Battle of Champions to be staged at years end, an event sanctioned by the Beach Volleyball Association of the Philippines headed by Negros Occidental Volleyball Association (NOVA) president Roger Banzuela. (HCV)
