Ilustre-Pascua stumbles in Seoul
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:32:00 05/16/2008
MANILA, Philippines--The search for an Olympic slot by beach volleybelles Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua got stalled anew as the Filipino-American tandem absorbed back-to-back losses and were eliminated from the World Tour leg in Seoul Thursday.
Seeded 27th in the main draw, Ilustre and Pascua first bowed to sixth seed Ana Paula Connely and Shelda Kelly Bruno Bede of Brazil, 21-11, 21-19, in the morning match.
Although they took a 15-11 lead in the second set, Ilustre and Pascua couldn't match the explosive finish of the more experienced tandem of Bede, who won a silver in the Athens 2004 Olympics with a different partner, and Connely who placed fifth in the same Olympiad with another teammate.
Connely and Bede are running 26th in the provisional Olympic roster but there are at least three more Brazilian pairs above them.
The third-ranked German team on the Olympic roster, Abelar and Jurich are 10th overall on the provisional list.
RP team handler Tony Boy Liao said Ilustre and Pascua ended up 25th out of 63 teams but are still in the hunt for slots in Beijing. The pair is now in 33rd place, nine notches away from an outright Beijing slot.
Liao said the pair will see action in the Osaka leg next week. They only have seven more legs to play to secure points and barge into the top 24 on the Tour.
Marc Anthony Reyes
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