THE title-favorites Team KR and University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers were quick to show what champions are made of with dominating wins in the opening day of the 2019 Mayor’s Cup Sinulog Beach Volleyball Tournament at the Fort San Pedro sand court, Plaza Independencia on Thursday, Jan. 24.
The University of Santo Tomas (UST) former top pair Chris Roy Guzman and Krung Arbasto of Team KR slammed University of Cebu in straight sets, 21-12, 21-9, to open their bid in the four-day tournament on a high note.
Guzman and Arbasto were the 2016 UAAP beach volleyball champions before the latter won again with another partner in his final year in 2018.
The Manila-based players who play in Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) and Philippine Superliga (PSL) were in Cebu to join the Sinulog festivity and extended their stay here upon learning that there was a tournament.
“We were supposed to go back to Manila after Sinulog. Our flight was on Jan. 24 but we learned that there’s a tournament so we decided to play,” said Guzman, a product of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R).
Guzman added he expects a high level competition knowing that Cebu is known for beach volleyball.
“I’m excited to play here, and also it’s like giving back to where I started my volleyball career,” added Guzman.
Arbasto said that the unfamiliarity on the play of the other players should be a challenge for them.
“We will make it one game at a time and slowly figure out the playing style of participating teams. We really expect high level plays because it’s Cebu and there are strong players here,” said the General Santos-native Arbasto.
Arbasto was on point regarding the competitive level of Cebuano teams and proof of that is no other than the reigning three-time Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) beach volleyball champion—UV.
UV’s potent pair of John Kevin Juban and Raphy Abanto did not disappoint on their first game as they beat University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) in straight sets, 21-16, 21-9.
Despite the win, Juban and Abanto admitted that they were still shaking off the rust from the break after the Cesafi season came to a close in December.
“There’s some adjustment to make. I think this is because of the holiday season break. The endurance and stability are the things we need to improve as the tournament progress,” Juban told SunStar Cebu in Cebuano.
“We hope that we get the same outcome in Cesafi but this is going to be more challenging since there’s a Manila team (Team KR),” added Abanto.
The tournament organized by the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) and the Cebu Spikers Volleyball Club has a total of 16 teams—10 in the men’s division and six in the women’s class.
The men’s team is divided into two brackets with the top two teams in each bracket advancing to the crossover semis. The women’s class has one bracket with the top four advancing to semis.
The champion team will win a P20,000 cash prize, while the second to fourth placers will get P15,000, P10,000 and P5,000, respectively.