Beach volleybelles tipped to win medal in Asian Games

The RP beach volleyball team has a better chance to snatch a medal in the 2006 Doha Asian Games than the indoor squad.

National coach Ottie Camangian yesterday made this declaration as he batted for support for the team beefed up by Fil-Ams campaigning in the tough United States Beach Volley circuit.

"Beach volleyball has a stronger chance in winning a medal in the Asian Games and it’s cheaper because there are only few players," Camangian told The STAR.

Heidi Illustre and Diane Pascua, bronze medal winners in the recent 23rd Southeast Asian Games here, have vowed to come back and represent the country in the quadrennial meet slated Dec. 1-15.

Also signifying their intention to play for the country is the Fil-Am duo of Chad Mowrey and Justin Schnor, a semifinalist in the SEAG.

"They want to represent the country in the Asian Games but our only problem is funding," said Camangian.

Indoor volleyball also produced a bronze from the women’s team while the men’s team failed to even make it to the semis.

An indoor team is composed of six players and the same number of alternates while it takes only two players to form a beach volley squad.

Camangian recently formed a new group — the Beach Volleyball Association of the Philippines — to stay away from the troubled Philippine Volleyball Federation.

The PVF is currently under sanction by the FIVB following its failure to pay its financial obligations to the world governing body it incurred when the country hosted the World Volleyball Grand Prix several years ago.

"We are in the process of legalizing the organization, we want to have our own juridical personality," Camangian said.

Camangian complained that beach volleyball was supposed to receive P500,000 from the P1.5 million that was allotted for volleyball in the SEAG but received only P200,000.

"If we can come up with a bronze with minimal support, what more if they supported us fully," he said.