Tall, nimble Spaniards oust Soriano-Micek pair

TOWERING over the Filipinos and covering more sand with their long limbs, top-ranked Spain crushed Philippines Team A, 21-14, 21-10, last night to eliminate the hosts and progress to the quarterfinals of the Spike for Peace international beach volleyball tournament at Philsports Arena.

Amaranta Fernandez, who stands 6-foot-2 but moves with remarkable nimbleness, fired 19 points in her pairing with Ester Rivera to pin a third straight defeat on the pair of Alexa Micek and Charo Soriano in the tournament that rewards $8,000 to the champions.

“We knew that the Philippine team could play well, so we didn’t pull our punches and pushed until the final point,” said Fernandez.

Micek and Soriano’s defeat ended the country’s campaign in the event, which the Philippine Sports Commission put up to help boost the sport in the country.

The PH Team B pairing of Danika Gendrauli and Jane Diaz also failed to make the next round after losing all its Pool C games.

“They are too big and too good for us; they are the top seeds,” said Filipino coach Oliver Almadro. “Hopefully, someday we’ll have the opportunity to play at their level.”

Tandems from 11 other countries, the majority of whom are gunning for berths in the Rio Olympics next year, are seeing action in the tournament which ends tomorrow.

Spain moved to the quarterfinal phase which gets going today. The games are free to the public.