Tiu-Hingpit books q’final slot

FILLE Cayetano of Petron Sprint 4T saves a shot from Foton Hurricane’s Pau Soriano in Saturday’s game. Soriano and partner Bea Tanwon, 21-15, 21-14. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

WENSH Tiu and April Ross Hingpit of Cignal B proved they have the game to match their good looks after scoring two victories late Saturday to jumpstart their campaign in the PLDT Home Ultera-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup 2015 presented by Smart Live More at Sands By the Bay in SM Mall of Asia.

Tiu and Hingpit downed the equally stunning pair of Charo Soriano and Gretchen Ho of Petron XCS, 21-16, 21-13, before drubbing Tripoli Aurora and Rochet dela Paz of Accel Quantum Plus B-Perpetual Molino, 21-12, 21-12.

The twin wins put the Cignal B tandem in the quarterfinals of the Saturdays-only tournament and sent a strong message to the talent-heavy field.

“The plan was to come up with good service and receptions early because Petron is very competitive, just like all teams in this tournament,” said the 24-year-old Tiu, an advertising management graduate at De La Salle University.

Cignal B was never in danger as Tiu and Hingpit appeared more comfortable on the sand, connecting on their serves and guarding their turf with ferocity.

Petron XCS, one of the most popular tandems in the meet because of Ho and Soriano, failed to match the intensity of the Cignal B pair, which took less than an hour to oust Aurora and Dela Paz later.

“It gets tougher from here,” Tiu said. “The quarterfinals is an entirely different story. All teams are competitive. We have to train hard in the next few days to prepare for much tougher battles.

“We also have to work more on our receptions and minimize our errors to sustain our momentum.”

Action resumes next Saturday where the quarterfinal pairings will be decided.

Joining them in the winner’s circle are Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain of Foton Tornadoes, who bested Cindy Benitez and Florence May Madulid of Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), 21-9, 21-18; Rossan Fajardo and Aileen Abuel of Philips Gold, who routed Kim Ygay and Evangeline Pastor of Accel Quantum Plus A-Perpetual Molino, 21-12, 21-16; and Jusabelle Brillo and Jem Guttierez of Meralco, who crushed Beneco, 21-11, 21-12.

In the men’s division, the Cebuano pair of Jade Becaldo and Hachaliah Gilbuena of SM By the Bay A crushed Ian Conde and Karl Dela Calzada of Instituto Estetico Manila, 21-17, 21-13, while Marjun Alingasa and Loujie Tigpos of Champion Infinity B nipped Emmanuel Luces and Jay Dela Cruz of Cignal HD Spikers B with a thrilling three-set victory, 21-15, 19-21, 15-13.