UST, La Salle pairs lead volley cast

BORACAY—UAAP powerhouse squads University of Santo Tomas and  De La Salle University, defending women’s champion Central Philippine University and back-to-back NCAA champion Arellano University will lead the cast of 24 pairs vying for the 15th Nestea Beach Volleyball National Finals crown starting today.

National Capital Region winner Arellano, bannered by John Carlo Lozada and Chris Salvador, Luzon champion De La Salle-Dasmariñas, Visayas topnotcher University of St. La Salle-Bacolod and Mindanao’s University of Mindanao-Tagum are the favorites in the men’s side.

Leg winners UST (NCR), DLS-Dasmarinas (Luzon), CPU (Visayas) and UM-Tagum (Mindanao) will lead the women’s division. DLSU placed second in the NCR battle.

“We hope we can display a better performance all throughout the finals,” said Arellano coach Sherwin Meneses,  while adding that beating UST in the NCR men’s finals boosted their confidence.  “Our ability to withstand pressure is there. We have the mindset that we can win this competition and we will make it happen.”