Baguio lasses say better late than never

Maria Kristine Enola and Madonna Rimando, a pair of students from the University of Baguio, were not joking when they said they caught the last bus to the seventh Nestea Beach Volley Championships.

They did catch the last bus — literally.

After failing to register on time, Enola and Rimando never stood a chance to compete this year, opting to stay up in chilly Baguio, until they received word from the organizers that one of the early Luzon entries in the women’s division had backed out.

They got the call at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday or barely hours before Friday’s start of the competition at the Rockwell Center in Makati City. Wasting no time, they grabbed their clothes, headed for the bus station, boarded the last trip at 10 p.m. and made it to Manila a little past 5 a.m.

"They left Baguio with nothing — no allowances from their school and no playing jerseys," said one of the tournament organizers.

But the duo made it to Manila and, tired and sleepy, went straight to the Great Eastern Hotel, where most of the visiting players are billeted, dropped their bags and rested just for a while before they were shuttled to the Rockwell Center for the opening ceremony.

Their spirits high just being able to make it, Enola and Rimando wasted no time beating their opponents from Philippine Maritime Institute in Quezon City in the one-set, rally-point race-to-21 contest, 21-11.

After a long, much-needed rest, they did just the same yesterday.

Enola, a third year BS Tourism student, and Rimando, a second year taking up computer science, defeated a classy pair from Assumption College, 21-16, as they chalked up their second straight victory and a virtual seat in the quarterfinals of the Luzon elims.

They plunge back into action this afternoon against their counterparts from Centro Escolar University, hoping to sweep their elimination round schedule heading into the quarterfinals along with the favored teams.

Then who knows what’s in store for them?

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The other teams with 2-0 records in the women’s side as of yesterday were Letran which toyed with PCU Dasmariñas, 21-9; La Salle Dasmariñas which edged San Sebastian Cavite, 21-19; title contender Santo Tomas which clawed PAC, 20-10; and Mapua which clobbered Philippine Norman College, 21-8.

In the men’s division, still perfect at 2-0 were Bulacan State University which won twice yesterday, beating Philippine Christian University Dasmariñas, 21-18, and Jose Rizal University, 21-15; Pampanga Agricultural College which tripped Laguna College of Business Arts, 21-19; and La Salle Dasmariñas which downed San Sebastian Manila, 21-14.

Other men’s winners yesterday were St. Francis over LCBA earlier in the day, 27-25; UP over Mapua 24-22; St. Benilde over Letran, 21-10; Perpetual Help Laguna over STI, 21-6; Adamson over St. Louis U, 21-9; Baguio State U over JRU, 21-15; Mapua over University of Baguio, 21-14; PCU Manila over PNU, 21-6; and PATTS over Baguio Colleges Foundation, 21-17.

In the women’s side, also scoring for the day were PSCA over PNU, 21-14; St. Jude over Santo Tomas, 21-9; PMI-QC over Centro Escolar, 21-13; Santo Tomas which bounced back against PAC, 21-10; and BCF over University of Asia and the Pacific, 21-19.