STA. LUCIA and Abanse Negrense crushed their respective opponents to jump-start their campaign in the 2021 Gatorade-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup at the Subic Bay Freeport sand court.
Sta. Lucia B’s Bang Pineda and Jonah Sabete showed no sign of rust in their 21-10, 21-9 rout of Kennedy Solar Energy-PetroGazz’s Ariane Alarcon and Christina Canares in the opening match of the tournament that has Cherrylume, Ube Express and Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel as sponsors and Cocolife, Cocogen Insurance, Data Project and Genius Sports as technical partners.
A few hours later, the tandem of DM Demontano and Jackie Estoquia of Sta. Lucia B that made its presence felt with a 21-18, 21-13 victory over Jonah San Pedro and Javen Sabas of Toby’s Sports.
Also victorious were Abanse Negrense’s Alexa Polidario and Erjan Magdato, who crushed F2 Logistics’ Jennymar Senares and Kyla Gallego, 21-15, 21-12, to wrap up the morning session of the competition that was made possible through the support of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Central Luzon.
Their Abanse Negros B counterparts, Jennifer Cosas and Gelimae Villanueva, beat United Auctioneers Inc.’s Ella Viray and Theresa Ramas, 21-13, 21-12, in Pool B.
More than winning their first assignment, Pineda and Sabete said they were happy to see action for the first time in 11 months.
“At this point, more than winning the game, we are very happy to play again in a tournament,” said Pineda, a noted floor defender during her stint with the Lady Realtors in volleyball. “Missing the game for so long made me more inspired and I’m sure all players are motivated to win in this very competitive tournament.”
“Finally, after almost a year, we were able to play again,” Sabete said. “We’re really excited and inspired as we continue to compete in the PSL.”