Gonzales, Dela Peña rule Petron beach volley

LINGAYEN, Philippines  – Shaira Gonzales completed her triumphant return to a sport she used to love in the 2010 Petron Ladies’ Beach Volleyball Tournament Saturday here.

Gonzales, 21, and her Far Eastern U teammate Shedd de la Peña bounced back from an erratic second set to upset defending champion Jennifer Manzano and La Salle-Dasmariñas schoolmate Satchel Senupe, 22-20, 11-21, 15-4, to claim the circuit’s third leg honors.

The win, which gave Gonzales a second crown after first winning a title in a collegiate tournament two years ago with Wendy Semana, also rewarded her and De la Peña a slot to the Petron Battle of Champions to be held this October in Puerto Princesa City.

The duo reached the finals after scoring a close 23-21 triumph over Ateneo spikers Sharah So and Khryzette Onishi in the crossover semifinals of this two-day spikefest supported by Speedo, Mikasa, the Sports Development Program of Pangasinan, Fern-Slim, Coca-Cola, Victory Liner, Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil (second district) and Petron.

Manzano, who is from Bgy. Bolangobong in Lingayen and Senupe banked on their familiarity of the conditions of the Lingayen beach front to frustrate FEU rookies Janine Peñaranda and Loryvel Faytaren with a 21-17 beating and arrange a championship clash with Gonzales and De la Peña.

Gonzales kept Manzano, who is last year’s third leg champion and overall titlist, and Senupe at bay in the third set with a pair of service winners, touching off a 6-1 run that gave them an 11-3 advantage.

“Masyado kaming nag-relax. Akala namin, diretso na. Dumami tuloy ang errors at hindi na-minimize. Kaya nag-adjust kami sa third set. Nagpalit kami ng position ng partner ko. Sara harap ako at sa left side. Naging maganda ang result,” said Gonzales, who stuck to the left corner for most of the third set to protect her turf, enabling De la Peña to protect the frontline more effectively.

Her title conquest with De la Peña inspired Gonzales not to retire from the sport and rejoin competitions again on the encouragement of her coaches.

Gonzales, a business management senior, and De la Peña took first set after they fought their way out of a 15-19 deficit.

They forced two deadlocks, with Gonzales’ kill at the net tying the game at 19-all, while a mean lob shot to the middle by Senupe equalized the count again at 20-all.

A reception error from the two La Salle spikers and Gonzales’ ace gave them the first-set edge.

De la Peña and Gonzales ran into trouble in the second set as crosswinds wrought havoc on their power game after they held Manzano and Senupe to a 7-all deadlock. They fell into a maze of errors as Manzano and Senupe pushed ahead with a decisive 9-0 blast, which gave them a 16-7 spread.