All systems go for Visayas leg of Nestea beach volley

IT’S all systems go for the Visayas eliminations of the Nestea Beach Volley circuit which kicks off tomorrow on the pristine beaches of Moalboal town.

According to Visayas tournament organizer Ricky Ballesteros, they have been busy preparing the venue since the start of the week and all things should go smoothly once the tournament commences tomorrow morning.

“Just last Monday, the venue has already been prepared with bleachers. Just today we had a refresher course for referees with coach Otie Cataingan. Players from Bacolod, Bohol, Dumaguete, Iloilo and Roxas City will be arriving tomorrow (today),” said Ballesteros in an interview yesterday.

First staged in 1995, Nestea Beach began as an intercollegiate volleyball tournament with less than 50 teams participating. The games were well-received by volleyball enthusiasts prompting organizers to host another volleyball tournament in 1997.

The competition attracted more and more volleyball teams as the years went by with 48 teams competing in 1998, 96 teams in 1999 and so on.

Cebu will be represented by Southwestern University, arguably, the most dominant women’s beach volleyball squad to come out of Cebu with several national crowns. They will joined by the University of San Carlos, University of San Jose-Recoletos and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation. On the men’s side, the same squads will be competing along with the University of Cebu and the University of the Visayas.

At stake in this tournament is the chance to represent the region in the national finals which will be held at Boracay Island on April 19-21. There, the stakes go higher as a cash prize of P100,000 will each be awarded to the men’s and women’s champions.

Ballesteros said that he remains confident in the chances of the Cebu squads given their performance in recent years in the said competition.

“The best beach volley teams are from the defending champions, Foundation University of Dumaguete and Central Philippines University of Iloilo. But I have confidence in the Cebu teams since we have ruled this event for years,” he said. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio