Following an intense 2-day competition, Delimondo’s Gelimae Villanueva and Bianca Lizares ruled the 1st Governor Bong Lacson Beach Volleyball Tournament (Women’s Open Category) held at the resthouse of Jose G. Montalbo in Spur 14 Purok Langka, Brgy. Bunga, Don Salvador Benedicto on April 20 to 21.
Team Delimondo bagged the championship title after defeating City Designs’ Jennifer Cosas and Erjane Magdato (Philippine Super Liga Beach Volleyball Champion and former National Beach Volleyball Player) in the last set of their final game, scoring 15 – 5. The scores were 21 – 17 and 17 – 21 in the first two sets. Throughout the tournament, Lizares and Villanueva overcame all their opponents, recording no losses.
City Designs, on the other hand, settled as the first runner-up, while Kyla Angela Gallego and Edrilyn Carbajosa of University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos and Marixi Maligmat and Johana Puzon of Michael Kars were hailed the second and third runners-up, respectively. The UNO-R Team aced the two sets in the battle for third against Michael Kars, with scores of 21 – 16 and 21 – 15. The inaugural beach volleyball tournament was overseen by tournament manager Wilard Tubal.
Other participating teams included VNJ-Sports Cebu A, VNJ-Sports Cebu B, VMA-A, VMA-B, LFB, and Dr. Jack Iloilo. Present during the opening of the tournament on Saturday morning were Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Provincial Sports Coordinator Anthony Carlo Agustin, DSB Mayor Laurence Marxlen Dela Cruz, and Negros Federation Volleyball Enthusiasts Inc. (NEFVEI) President Jose Montalbo.
In his opening speech, Lacson signified his commitment to spearhead more sports programs in the province. He also highlighted that the inaugural beach volleyball tournament in the mountainous Don Salvador Benedicto is a way for the provincial government to promote the municipality as its summer capital.
The 1st Governor Bong Lacson Beach Volleyball Tournament (Women’s Open Category) is part of the Abanse Negrense Sports Programs spearheaded by Gov. Lacson and assisted by the Provincial Sports Office. This beach volleyball tournament was a collaboration with NEFVEI, while other sponsors included JGM Dreams Foundation Inc. and Robiank Marketing Advertising Company.*
