CEBU, Philippines - The tandem of Kennette Garces and Marissa Lagancia bagged their first title as partners via the “Hudyaka sa Kapistahan sa Dipolog” beach volley tournament over the weekend in Dipolog City.
It was an unexpected victory for Garces and Lagancia as they were up against the formidable duo of former Nestea beach volley champs Apple Eve Saraum and Jusabelle Brillo, who is also an RP team member.
More to that, Garces and Lagancia fumbled in the first set, 21-16.
In the second set, however, Garces and Lagancia found some ray of hope when they pulled off a hard-earned 24-22 victory to forge an equalizer.
In the decider, both sides displayed championship caliber performances to the delight of the spectators. Brillo and Saraum posted a hairline 12-11 lead but that proved to be their last gasp of breath as Garcia and Lagancia detonated a crippling 4-0 bomb to wrap up the match.
“We’re very happy because we took home the title against a powerful opponents. It was a tough quest for us since we faced a more skillful and experienced pair but luckily we were able to make it,” said Garces and Lagancia.
Florian Gutierrez and Marites Natad lifted the third place trophy after whipping the Dipolog City selection, 21-15, 21-10.
Aside from trophies, the champion received P14,000, while the second and third pocketed P10,000 and P5,000 pesos, respectively.
Garces and Lagancia hope to sustain their momentum when they compete in the Kinabayo Festival beach volley tournament on July 23-25 in Dapitan City. —THE FREEMAN