Foreign teams competing in the 2019 Rebisco Beach Volleyball International Open have started to plane in to test the mettle of their Filipino counterparts.
The men’s team from the Pacific island of Palau was the first to arrive on Wednesday to prepare for the three-day competition starting Friday at the Sands SM By The Bay.
Expected to arrive Thursday are Southeast Asian teams Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.
A total of 20 teams will compete in double-gender spikefest presented by Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc., in cooperation with Beach Volleyball Republic.
The competition will also serve as a warm-up for the Southeast Asian Games-bound Philippine team, which Rebisco is proudly supporting.
“With the holistic support of LVPI and Rebisco, I am confident that beach volleyball will continue to develop and prosper in our country,” said team manager Charo Soriano.
The Philippines will be represented by the top women’s pairs of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons, and Dzi Gervacio and Dij Rodriguez.
Other Filipinas competing in the tournament backed by Liberty Insurance, Glorious Blend Coffee and Globe Telecom are rising stars Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor of reigning UAAP champion University of Santo Tomas; and sand court veterans DM Demontaño and Jackie Estoquia of Sta. Lucia.
Top Filipino standouts Edmar Bonono and Jude Garcia, and Krung Arbasto and James Buytrago will banner the country’s campaign in the men’s side, along with Pol Salvador and Pemie Bagalay.
The last time the Philippines hosted the biennial event in 2005, the Fil-Am pair of Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua won the bronze medal in Bacolod City.
The Filipino beach volleyball players have competed against veteran international teams in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1-Star event which the country hosted in Manila (2018) and Boracay (2019).
For more updates about the Philippine beach volleyball team, please check its social media accounts @pilipinasbeachvolleyball on Instagram and Facebook, and @phbeachvolley on Twitter.
