TAGUM CITY -- University of Mindanao-Tagum and Holy Cross of Davao College sent two teams each to the national finals along with teams from Capitol University and University of Mindanao-Davao at the close of the 2008 Nestea Beach Volleyball Mindanao elimination Thursday at the Tagum Beach Volleydrome here.

UM-T forfeited its men’s finals match to Capitol University, also a finalist last year, as fever-stricken veteran Raquelito Tayabas begged off from playing.

“He really can’t play anymore,” Lowell Fabian said of his teammate of four years in Filipino. “We wanted so much to play so as not to disappoint our supporters, but we couldn’t sacrifice Raquelito’s health.”

It will be UM-T’s third trip to the Boracay finals, slated April 24-26, after finishing eighth in 2004 and ninth in 2005. It won all its four matches before handing Capitol the men’s title on a silver platter.

Capitol’s Kiven Escobal and John Michael Vivares, playing beach volleyball together for the first time, will aim to improve on their school’s fourth-place finish in 2005 and seventh place last year.

“We are not sure if we can scout our would-be opponents in Luzon and Visayas, so we will just pour it all in practice,” said Capitol coach Jason Damulo.

Holy Cross beat Agusan Institute of Technology, 21-14, 21-13, to clinch the third and final men’s berth. Agusan Institute had earlier ousted 2007 national champion and four-time finalist Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi, 21-9, 21-9.

In women’s play, UM-T made it to Boracay for the second straight year after upending Holy Cross, 21-7, 21-7.

Mylin Que and Leizl Manatad beat UM-D’s Maricel Cabus and Janice Arnaiz, 22-20, 21-15, in the semifinals to book the first national finals slot. Down, 17-20, in the first set, they scored the next five points to prevail and eventually dominate the second set.

UM-D, last year’s women’s topnotcher, recovered just in time in the battle for third, stopping MSU-T, 21-7, 21-15, to catch the last finals trip.

A total of 12 schools contested finals slots in the men’s division while 10 ladies’ squads saw action. The top three winners of each bracket will battle it out with the qualifiers from Luzon and the Visayas.

The Island Cove Leisure Resort in Cavite will host the Luzon leg on March 25-27 while the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod will hold the Visayas qualifier.

University of Visayas is the defending national women’s champion.