INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines—Far Eastern University and College of St. Benilde set out as the heavy favorites in the 2008 Nestea Beach Volleyball Luzon elimination which unwraps Tuesday at the Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park in Cavite.

FEU, the 1999 Nestea national champion, topped both the men’s and women’s divisions in the UAAP beach volleyball.

Edjet Mabbayad and Jerry Mabutol team up for FEU in men’s play while Wendy Anne Semana returns to action in the women’s event with new partner Shaira Gonzalez.

Mabbayad is the UAAP’s best scorer and attacker while Semana is the league’s Most Valuable Player in both volleyball and beach volleyball competitions.

St. Benilde, meanwhile, has dominated five previous men’s beach volleyball seasons of the NCAA, while its lady pair finished runner-up to San Sebastian College. Benilde was also the Nestea men’s champion in 2005 and women’s titlist in 2006.

Benilde coach Parley Tupaz is pinning his hopes on the men’s pair of Angelo Espiritu and Eddie Madcon. The team’s female pair is made up of Hazel Cay and Girly Quemada.

Inaugural men’s champion University of Santo Tomas will be represented by Harbie Ilano and UAAP rookie of the Year Jayson Ramos. It has no entry in the women’s tournament.

FEU topped both divisions of last year’s Luzon leg.

FEU Tamaraw duo Joshua Alcarde and Jeremy Floyd Pedregosa bowed to Mindanao State University-Tawi Tawi’s Gabshar Tahillu-din and Yusop Abdul-Karim in the men’s national finals.

Other competing teams: Adamson University, Letran College, La Salle-Dasmariñas, Lyceum University of the Philippines, PATTS, St. Francis School, Philippine Christian University, St. Jude College, St. Louis University, San Beda College-Alabang, San Beda College-Manila, University of Baguio, University of Luzon, University of Perpetual Help-Las Piñas, University of the Philippines-Diliman.