Beach volley action begins

MANILA, Philippines — With action being fired off earlier this week in Metro Manila and New Clark City venues, it’s now the turn of the Subic cluster in Zambales to host  and stage SEA Games hostilities. 

Home to 16 out of the 56 sports on tap, Subic ushers in beach volleyball as its first event at 9 a.m. today with the other games firing off on Dec. 1, a day after the formal opening. 

The Philippines is fielding two squads each for men’s and women’s beach volleyball, which is making a return after an eight-year absence in the SEA Games.

Beach volley matches will be staged at the Subic tennis grounds, where a sandcourt was built.

Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons together with Dzi Gervacio and Dji Rodriguez banner the women’s team while the pairs of Edmar Bonono-Jude Garcia and Jaron Requinton-James Buytrago will spearhead the Philippine men’s squads.

The Phl men’s teams will face Timor Leste Team 1 and 2 starting at 9 a.m. while the women’s teams collides with Indonesia Team 1 and 2 starting at 5:30 p.m.

The country’s beach volley entries underwent a productive training camp earlier this month with the tandems of Rondina-Pons and Gervacio-Rodriguez completing a 1-2 finish in the 20-team Rebisco Beach Volleyball International Open at the Sands SM by the Bay in Pasay City. 

Rondina, the four-time UAAP beach volleyball champion, and the rest of the crew are eyeing to end the country’s beach volley drought since Fil-Americans Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua won the  bronze in 2005. 

They are hoping to ride the momentum of the rousing campaign against the best Asian beach volley players from Hong Kong, New Zealand and Thailand. This SEA Games  will also serve as qualifiers to the prestigious AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Finals. 

The SEA Games gold medalist will earn a straight ticket to the AVC finale while the runner-up will be seeded in the semifinals.

Other venues in Subic are Lighthouse Marina (windsurfing), Malawaan Park (canoe/kayak, traditional boat and dragonboat race), Subic Bay Tennis Court (beach handball), Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (muay thai, pencak silat, table tennis), Subic Bay Yacht Club (sailing), Subic Gym (sepak takraw), Subic Bay Boardwalk (open swimming, duathlon, triathlon, pentathlon), Travelers Hotel (swimming) and Kamana Sanctuary (rowing). 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma assured the area’s readiness earlier this week during the lighting of the cauldron at the Subic Bay Freeport along with PHISGOC director for ceremonies and cultural events Mike Aguilar and 2017 SEA Games triathlon winners Nikko Huelgas and Claire Adorna.