The Ilongga pair of Bea Tan and Fiola Ceballos kept an unblemished record throughout the Beach Volleyball Republic on Tour: National Championships and capped their championship run against Negros pair Jennifer Cosas and Florimel Rodriguez in the tournament final with a masterful 21-19, 18-21, 15-7 win at the Sands by the Bay in Pasay City.
The final match was incredibly close with neither team pulling away by more than two in the first two sets. Tan and Ceballos pulled off clutch defensive plays to create a slim separation down the stretch of the first set. In the following set, Cosas and Rodriguez attacked smartly to erase Tan and Ceballos’ 17-15 lead and force a third and deciding set.
Tan and Ceballos immediately grabbed momentum of the final set, going ahead 6-2. Making plays both at the net and on the floor, the Ilonggas took the match and the 100,000 pesos prize comfortably.
Having won one of the previous seven BVR legs, Tan and Ceballos banked on their uncanny chemistry to knock their opponents out. The pair had played indoor volleyball in high school and rekindled their partnership a few months back.
“Our chemistry was really important in this tournament,” said Tan who is also a co-founder of BVR. “This was probably the tightest competitions we’ve had sine beginning the tour.
“You could really see how a lot of the girls improved as they competed more. We’re just really happy we were able to come out on top.”
Tan and Ceballos topped Pool C in the elimination phase, following their success with a sweep in the quarterfinals. They then dominated the Air Force pair of Camille Abanto and Judy Caballejo in the semifinals, 21-10, 21-11, to cruise into the Final.
Camille Abanto and Judy Caballejo finished in third place and will be one of three teams headed to Cagayan
On the other hand, Cosas and Rodriguez barely made it out of Pool A, relying on a tight tiebreaker between three teams.
Jennifer Cosas and Florimel Rodriguez were awarded a check worth 70,000 for their 2nd place finish
They managed to upset top team DM Demontaño and Apple Saraum in the quarterfinals.
In their semifinal match, against then-undefeated Alexa Micek and Charo Soriano, Cosas and Rodriguez had control of the match but Micek had an unfortunate accident. Micek dived head first into one of the advertising boards while going after a ball. Micek played until the third set but was not able to play after a medical timeout, conceding the match. Micek suffered a mild concussion and was advised to rest for the next two days.
Alexa Micek suffered a concussion as she and Charo Soriano had to forfeit their semifinal match
