Thursday, April 19, 2007 Nestea finals kicks off today
THE hunt for a sweep by Cebu and the race for the P150,000 top pot as the 2007 Nestea Beach Volleyball National Finals hits the fine beaches of Boracay this morning.
Cebu, which was shut out last year, seeks to recover from the 2006 debacle as five Cebuano teams made it to the Boracay stage. And with defending champions ousted in the elimination round, as they say, it could be anybody’s ball game.
Cebu has made impressive finishes in the past with Southwestern University (SWU) women’s team completing a grandslam in the 2003-2005 edition and University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) men’s team winning the national plum in 2002 and 2004.
Whether this year’s squads will equal those feats or surpass them remains to be seen.
Leading the Cebuanos’ bid are the USJ-R and University of San Carlos (USC), which topped in the women’s and men’s Visayas qualifiers last month in La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong City.
USJ-R, which will be bannered by veteran Julette Marikit and rangy newbie Genie Sabas, are out to bounce back from their bridesmaid’s finish last year.
“It is too early to tell that we will win. What we do know is that we will try our best,” said head coach Grace Antigua.
USC, on the other hand, will be headed by reigning Cesafi MVP Roderick Arenasa and Carlo Tecson, who will be mentored by a national titlist and six-time national finalist Norvie Labuga.
SWU, meanwhile, is ready to be catapulted back up on top with coach Thelma Datig’s duo of journey-woman Maritess Natad and Janelle Tabio.
Raffy Briones’ University of the Visayas has a huge load on his shoulders his team to do well as they are the only Cebu squads with sponsors. (MCB)
