For the second straight year, the Philippines will host the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1-star event on May 23-26, this time at the scenic Boracay Island.
Organized by Beach Volleyball Republic, the four-day, double-gender tournament has attracted a total of 20 women’s and 28 men’s teams from 17 countries.
The Philippines will have four women’s teams in the main draw – Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons, Dij Rodriguez and Bea Tan, Jackie Estoquia and DM Demontaño, and Fiola Ceballos and Patty Orendain.
A fifth pair – Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor – will go through the qualifiers.
Air Force’s Ranran Abdilla and Jesse Lopez will spearhead the country’s men’s campaign, which also includes collegiate standouts James Buytrago and Krung Arbasto, and Cebu’s Mike Abria and Jade Becaldo.
Tan and Rodriguez have won three BVR on Tour legs this year, while Barbon and Eslapor ruled the Dumaguete leg last month.
Abadilla and Lopez won the first three legs this season before Abria and Becaldo topped the recently-concluded Lingayen edition.
In its efforts to promote sustainable sports tourism, BVR has partnered with the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, the municipality of Malay, and White House Beach Resort for this prestigious event.
The country’s premier beach volleyball circuit is coming off successful legs in Puerto Galera, Santa Fe, Bantayan Island in Cebu, Dumaguete City and Lingayen, Pangasinan.
