SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Alexa Polidario and Erjane Magdato of Abanse Negrense A had their eyes on the prize the moment they agreed to join the 2021 Gatorade-Philippine Superliga Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup at the Subic Sands Court here.
No wonder, Polidario and Magdato took the tournament by storm as they asserted their dominance in this historic battle that served as the first volleyball event in this time of coronavirus pandemic.
Polidario rose to the occasion, knocking down the clutch hits in the winner-take-all finals to help the Negrense squad in beating the tandem of DM Demontano and Jackie Estoquia, 21-15, 21-17, to claim the crown of this event that was made in cooperation with the Inter-Agency Task Force Region 3 and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
“We really wanted the championship that’s why we went here,” Polidario said.
“”We’re happy and we feel blessed for winning the title even if we were just first-timers in the PSL. I hope we made the whole Negros proud.”
Abanse Negrense A was a picture of dominance right from the start of this tourney that has Cherrylume, Ube Express and Subic bay Peninsular Hotel as sponsors and Cocolife, Cocogen Insurance, Data Project and Genius Sports as technical partners.
Despite having no serious training due to the pandemic, Polidario and Magdato swept the pool play before sending Javen Savas and Jonah San Pedro of Toby’s Sports packing in the quarterfinals.
They clashed with the seasoned pair of Bang Pineda and Jonah Sabete of Sta. Lucia B in the semifinals, but were hardly threatened as they pulled off a 21-18, 21-12 win to punch a ticket to the finals.
Magdato said she hopes that their victory would etch Negros as the hotbed of beach volleyball in the country.
“This win is such a huge blessing for us, especially for our province. This is a testament that the Negrenses are talented in volleyball as well.”
Abanse Negrense team manager Carmela Gamboa was elated over the victory, saying that their players showed that they could stand their ground against seasoned foes from Manila.
“Although we wanted to have both Negrense teams in the finals, we’re happy because we still achieved our goal,” said Gamboa, a member of the Philippine national Volleyball Federation board of trustees.
“We’re happy to be part of the PSL’s historic return and we’re excited to go home to our province. I’m sure our Gov. Bong Lacson is so proud of us.”
Copping the bronze medal was Abanse Negrense B while Sta. Lucia B settled for fourth, F2 Logistics fifth, United Auctioneers sixth, Toby’s Sports seventh and Kennedy Solar Energy-PetroGazz eighth.
