Beijing is Fil-Am pair’s next target

It won’t be easy sailing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics two years from now but the Fil-Am pair of Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua is determined to represent the country in beach volleyball, with a little help from friends.

Tonyboy Liao, chairman of the Beach Volleyball Council of the Asian Volleyball Confederation, said he will push for the tandem’s participation in the world tour where qualifying slots in Beijing are up for grabs.

Money is a problem, said Liao, but he is optimistic there will be sponsors for Ilustre and Pascua who were the crowd darlings on the sand at the Asian Games in Doha. The estimate is a budget of $40,000 to finance the twosome’s participation in the world tour.

Ilustre and Pascua posted a 2-2 record in Doha, finishing seventh in the 14-team competition where they were seeded 10th. The 5-10 Fil-Ams got off to a rousing start by shocking No. 7 seed Kazakhstan, 21-16, 11-21, 17-15, but fell to the taller and more experienced China team of Xue Chen and Zhang Xi, 21-15, 21-18, in their next outing.

Ilustre, 28, said they played "a little smoother" and were more consistent against China than Kazakhstan but just couldn’t take a set from the World No. 3 combination.

Facing a do-or-die situation, the Fil-Ams stormed back to stay alive and trounced the Sri Lankan pair of Greethika Lalani Gunawardana and Wethanage Sujeewa Wijesinghe, 21-12, 21-9, in only 32 minutes. To reach the semifinals, they had to win two more matches, first against the Thai duo of Yupa Phokongploy and Usa Tenpaksee.

Ilustre and Pascua beat the Thais, 21-13, 21-18, at the Crocodile Park tournament in Hong Kong last month so they were confident of repeating to set the stage for a semifinal advance.

But the Thais proved too tough, hacking out a 22-20, 21-14 victory to eliminate the Fil-Ams. A win would’ve assured the Philippines of fifth place. The Fil-Ams had more attacking attempts, 68-65, but less conversions, 29-33, and less dig successes, 27-33. The match was over in 40 minutes.

It was the Fil-Ams’ second appearance for the country in an international competition. Last December, they wore the national colors in claiming the bronze medal at the Southeast Asian Games.

The Fil-Ams arrived in Doha last Nov. 27 and tested the sand courts the next day then passed the preliminary inquiry to check on their passports, uniforms and gear including caps, shades, water bottles and bags. Liao took part in the inquiry of the other teams as a member of the control committee.

The opening day parade was particularly memorable for the girls.

"It was really a great experience, especially when the Philippine delegation was called in and there were thousands of people cheering us but unfortunately, we all got soaking wet when it started raining," said Ilustre.

The match against Kazakhstan was played in 14-degree temperature and the cold air made it difficult for the Fil-Ams to start strong. They wrested the lead, 12-11, after the first technical timeout and breezed to win the first set, 21-16. The Kazakh pair of Marina Alenkina and Yelena Storozhenko leveled the count, 21-11, in the second set but the Fil-Ams sealed it by taking the third set, 17-15.

"The mood was festive after we won," recalled Liao. "Cheering in the stands were Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco with his daughter Mikee, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez, commissioner Richie Garcia, the Philippine Ambassador to Qatar, wushu’s Julian Camacho and a hundred Filipino volunteers working in the games."