CANDON CITY — Bianca Lizares and Honey Grace Cordero of Bacolod City staged a remarkable comeback after dropping the first set to defeat Roma Joy Doromal and Cherilyn Sindayen of Perlas, 15-21, 21-15, 16-14, securing the first women’s semifinals berth in the Beach Volleyball Republic on Tour Candon City leg, which commenced on Saturday at Darapidap Beach here.
In the most stunning result of Day 1, Cordero brought Bacolod to match point at 14-11 before an attacking error allowed Perlas to stay in the contest. Sindayen managed to save two match points, leveling the score at 14-14. Bacolod regained match point with a go-ahead hit, and Lizares sealed the game with a decisive kill, scoring a point over Sindayen.
Lizares and Cordero’s journey to the semifinals was improbable, as they lost their first two matches in Pool C against Narvacan (via default) and NU. However, they secured a victory in their last pool match against Candon City 1’s Sharmaine Garabiles and Jasmine Manzano, becoming one of the two “lucky losers” to advance to the quarterfinals.
Sindayen and Doromal emerged as Pool A winners after sweeping all three matches but fell short in the quarterfinals.
Bea Tan and Jennifer Cosas of West V also reached the semifinals after defeating Garabiles and Manzano of the home team with a dominant score of 21-5, 21-5. Tan and Cosas remain undefeated in four matches, including a sweep of Pool B.
Two more semifinal spots will be contested on Sunday morning, with NU’s Kly Orillaneda and Kathrina Epa, who topped Pool C, facing Ateneo 2’s Jana Cane and Gena Hora, the second-ranked team in Pool B. Narvacan, the runner-up in Pool C, represented by Desiree Jurado and Guadamae Gomez, will face Ateneo’s Liz Lomocso and Yumi Furukawa, who placed second in Pool B.
This marks the first time Candon City is hosting the BVR on Tour and the fourth time in Ilocos Sur since the tour started in 2016.
“We are glad to promote volleyball to our youth in the city,” said Candon City Mayor Eric Singson during the opening ceremony.
The finals and third-place match are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
