UV starts tough journey to title defense in Nestea Beach Volley

Cebu, Philippines - towards defending their national crown as the Visayas-Mindanao regional eliminations of the 16th Nestea Beach Volley gets underway today in the southern Cebu town of Moalboal.

They may be the reigning national men's champion, but Becaldo and Abria actually missed the regional crown last year to the University of Saint La Salle (USLS)-Bacolod.

Each school is allowed to field in two teams, but UV coach Raffy Briones decided to send just one team so  he can focus solely on Becaldo and Abria.

“What if magdungan og duwa ang amo team, asa man ko? Worse, if mag-abot jud sila sa isa ka-match. So it's better to have just one team,” said Briones.

Being the No.2 finisher during the Visayas qualifying last year, UV gets a seeding along with three other squads here and same as that of the top four in the Mindanao area.

A total of 23 schools are joining in the men’s division and 20 in the distaff side.

Aside from UV and USLS-Bacolod, the other contending squads in the Visayas region are Southwestern University,University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of Cebu, University of Southern Philippines Foundation, University of San Carlos, Bohol Institute of Technology, University of Bohol, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Foundation University, John B.Lacson Foundation Maritime University and Central Philippines University (CPU) of Iloilo.

The participating squads from Mindanao are the University of Mindanao-Tagum, Jose Maria College, Mindanao State University, Capitol University and newcomer Medical Central College.

Since the regional eliminations had been merged, more teams will get a chance to play in the national finals set on April 18-20 in Boracay. From three, there will be now six teams in both men and women's division that will proceed to the grand championships in the paradise island.

As sidelights for the exciting beach volley action, there will be a motor-boat race and a photo contest for the covering photojournalists. (FREEMAN)