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MANILA, Philippines – Sta. Lucia Realty pair Jackie Estoquia and DM Demontano and F2 Logistics duo Mich Morente and Fritz Gallenero defeated separate foes to arrange a semifinals meeting in the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup on Saturday, May 26, at Sands by the Bay.
Estoquia and Demontano came to their match prepared as they swept Mumay Vivas and Jannine Navarro of Cignal B, 21-10, 21-13, while Morente and Gallenero denied Mylene Paat and Raprap Aguilar of Cignal A, 18-21, 21-15, 16-14.
In the men’s play, Sands by the Bay and Foton arranged a finals showdown after they disposed of their respective opponents in two fierce battles.
Bryan Bagunas and James Natividad of Sands by the Bay bested Philip Bagalay and Gregory Utupo of Smart, 21-15, 21-14, while Kris Roy Guzman and Lemuel Arbasto of Foton dominated Mika Abria and Jessie Lopez of Cignal, 21-15, 21-14.
Sunday, May 26, will feature the men’s final that will be aired on ESPN5 and Aksyon TV and backed by PLDT, Sunsilk, Isuzu, Senoh, Mikasa, Maynilad, Petron, SM Malls, Generika Drugstore and UCPB Gen.
Estoquia and Demontano, who spent the whole night watching internet videos to map their strategy against Vivas and Navarro, put their plan into action.
“We studied our opponents, we watched their games so we can plan our strategy against them,” shared Estoquia. “It was our plan to dominate and pull away from the get go. We cannot let them get close because we know what they’re capable of.”
“I believe that our hardwork and teamwork were the keys to our win,” she added. “And those were the same things that we need to bring out when we play in the semis.”
Meanwhile, Morente and Gallenero struggled before they pulled off the victory.
Tied at 11-11 in the 3rd set, Cignal cruised to match point, 14-13, before F2 Logistics scored 3 straight points, capped by Morente’s service ace that bounced off the net to seal the win.
“We had a hard time controlling the ball, especially our service. The wind was too strong and we couldn’t handle it in the first set,” said Gallenero. “Good thing we adjusted in the second set and Mich and I just kept going.”
“It was difficult but we just kept our composure, we took it one attack, one reception at a time,” added Morente. – Rappler.com
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