THE FIRST pair of champions of the PLDT Home Ultera Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 powered by Smart Live More will be known today at Sands By the Bay in SM Mall of Asia.
Danika Gendrauli and Jane Diaz of Gilligan’s and Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain of Foton Tornadoes will dispute the women’s title at 3:30 p.m. while Jade Becaldo and Hachaliah Gilbuena of SM By the Bay A and Marjun Alingasa and Tippy Tipgos of Champion Infinity B will collide for the men’s crown at 5:30 p.m.
The title matches of the four-Saturday tournament will be aired live on TV5.
The women’s classification matches kick off hostilities at 10 a.m. with Amy’s and Philips Gold clashing for seventh place at 10 a.m., Meralco against Petron XCS for fifth at 11 a.m., and Centerstage against Cignal B for third at 2:30 p.m.
Gendrauli and Ceballos go a long way back as they used to lord it over the Cebu beach volleyball scene with different partners.
“This is going to be exciting because we have prepared very hard to reach this stage and I am sure they are also as ready as we are,” said Ceballos.
The men’s finals is also heavy with Visayan flavor as Becaldo is a two-time champion for University of Visayas, while Tipgos is a stalwart of University of San Jose-Recoletos. Both have played for the national team.
The tournament is organized by Sports Core with Accel as official outfitter, Sands By the Bay as venue partner, Senoh as technical sponsor and Maynilad as official water provider.