Davao's Catubag, Quilario to banner Philippines in BVR international tiff

SANTA ANA, Cagayan – Reigning Beach Volleyball Republic women's champions Lot Catubag and Karen Quilario of Davao will lead the Philippine charge as CEZA and First Cagayan present the BVR International Santa Ana Open, which begins Saturday here.

There will be an international flavor in the two-day event, as two Singapore pairs and a Hong Kong duo will vie for the crown in the eight-team women's field.

Also, squads from Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa will slug it out for the 10-team men's competition.

This is the fourth time that BVR will be in the scenic Santa Ana town in the northernmost part of the country — and the second to host an international beach volleyball event.

A total cash prize of $19,000 is at stake in the double gender event.

Aside from Catubag and Quilario of Davao, Iloilo's DM Demontaño and Jackie Estoquia, and Tuguegarao's Charo Soriano and Bea Tan will be the Philippines' best bets in the women's division.  

The three pairs are coming off a stint in last month's FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open which the country hosted for the first time.     

They will face competition from Singapore's Kelly Sim Son Shwu Yuen and Huang Zihui, and Tin Lai Ng and Tan Shiang Theng, as well as Hong Kong's Chen Mei Kit and Yip Wai Yan.

Other Filipinas competing are Far Eastern University's MJ Ebro and Ivana Agudo, and Southwestern University's Therese Ramas and Floremel Gutierrez.

In the men's division, BVR titleholders Jade Becaldo and Calvin Sarte of Ato ni Bai will spearhead the hosts' campaign along with Kevin Juban and Raphy Abanto of University of Visayas, and Bryan Bagunas and James Natividad of UAAP kings National University.

Singapore's Kam Lung Chui and Masato Itabashi, Malaysia's Raja Nazmi Hussin and Mohd Aizzat Zokri, and South Africa's Dominik Same and Martin Sramek will be the foreign participants in the men's side.