Gilligan’s, Foton clash for 1st Superliga title

MANILA, Philippines - Gilligan’s and Foton Tornadoes dispute the crown as the inaugural PLDT Home Ultera Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 powered by Smart Live More reaches an exciting conclusion today at the Sands By the Bay in SM Mall of Asia.

Gilligan’s pair Danica Gendrauli and Norie Jane Diaz and unbeaten Foton Tornadoes duo Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain hit the sandcourt at 3:30 p.m. to determine who’s the boss in the women’s division.

Providing an interesting sidelight to the clash is the regional rivalry between Cebuana Gendrauli and Ilongga Ceballos. The two figured in the championship of a commercial beach volley tourney in 2012 and 2013 and Ceballos emerged victorious both times.

“That will be an additional motivation on my part. That’s why we’re training hard to be super-competitive on Saturday,” said Gendrauli.

“We’ll be ready for them,” said Ceballos, noting Gendrauli’s improvement since the last time they competed.

Meanwhile, Jade Becaldo and Hachaliah Gilbuena of SM By the Bay A and Tippy Tipgos and Marjun Alingasa of Champion Infinity B clash for the men’s plum at 5:30 p.m.

As in the women’s finale, this one features an old rivalry rekindled. Becaldo won two beach volleyball championships while playing for University of the Visayas while Tipgos was his main rival from University of San Jose-Recoletos before joining the national team.

Also on tap for the day are the women’s division classification matches featuring Amy’s versus Philips Gold for seventh place at 10 a.m. and Meralco against Petron XCS for fifth at 11 a.m. Centerstage and Cignal HD Spikers A contest men’s third place at 1 p.m. and Cignal HD Spikers B and Foton Hurricane battle for the women’s bronze at 2:30 p.m.

The prestigious tourney is organized by Sports Core with Accel as official outfitter, Sands By the Bay as venue partner, Senoh as technical sponsor and Maynilad as official water provider.