THE ATENEO Blue Eagles returned to the sands in the Beach Volleyball Republic 2024 Summer Kickoff last April 13 at the Seafront Residences in Batangas. During the one-day contest, Gena Hora brought home a silver plaque alongside diagonal Euricka Eslapor from the University of the Philippines (UP) in the Women’s Tournament.
Men’s Division
Tim Batac and Lutrelle Taneo represented the Blue and White, starting their duel against the defending champions Johnwayne Dionela and Rain Gemarino of National University. “We were able to give the champions a close fight in the first set,” mentioned Taneo, conceding their battle against the Sampaloc-based squad in two sets. But despite only having four training sessions, the Blue Eagle is still proud of his and Batac’s performance.
Thereafter, the duo challenged Far Eastern University’s (FEU) Kyle Retiza and Reynan Postorioso for a chance to enter the semifinals. Following a 1-5 run by their Morayta-based adversaries, back-to-back points by Taneo sent the Tamaraws in disarray to minimize their lead, 4-5. However, the seasoned FEU players displayed their expertise with a four-point cushion, hindered once more by Taneo with an attack to an unguarded zone five, 8-5.
Taneo delivered most of the points for the contest, converting on a sharp angled attack despite Batac’s low set, 6-14. The Blue Eagle then tricked the Tamaraw defense on a tip, attempting to gain momentum at 9-18. Nonetheless, the Ateneo duo continued to struggle, only gaining markers off of opponent errors.
Ultimately, after notching their last two points on service errors, Retiza scored with an attack towards zone one to clinch the match in favor of the Tamaraws, 25-12. “We tend to get shaky when our opponents take a significant lead in scores,” Taneo admitted.
Nevertheless, the Blue Eagles’ recent outing is a testament to the pair’s resolve of improving their play on the sands. “If [an] opportunity knocks on my door, it would be an honor to accept,” Taneo expressed, hoping for more chances to make the Ateneo and his hometown cheer with pride.
Women’s Division
Turning over to the women’s side of the tournament, the Katipunan-based universities teamed up with Hora and Eslapor entering the sands. The diagonals triumphed over University of Santo Tomas’ Khylem Progella and Grithney Dadang in three sets, 18-21, 21-17, 15-14. The Katipunan-based duo also prevailed against FEU’s Frenchie Premaylon and Lovely Lopez in a one-set clash, 25-23. Due to their stellar wins, the Blue Eagle and Fighting Maroon moved forward towards the gold medal match against another FEU pair, Melody Pons and Sheena Café.
With Hora and Eslapor conceding their first battle against Pons and Café prior to the finals, 21-25, the contest saw no team gaining proper footing on the sand, exchanging continuous errors, three-all. Later on, the Tamaraws followed through with a 5-0 run to stun the Katipunan pair, 9-5. A string of errors by Hora and Eslapor then ensued as Pons helped FEU pull further away with a three-point burst to extend their lead, 18-12. Eventually, the Tamaraws ended the opening set with a Pons attack, 21-14.
Commencing the second frame, Pons and Café surprised the Katipunan duo with an immediate 4-0 run. Refusing to let their opponents pull away, Hora converted on an attack between the Tamaraws, 6-10. Yet despite the Eagle’s heroics, errors persisted on the side of Katipunan, lagging behind by ten markers, 9-19. As the wind slowly favored the other side of the court, FEU’s Pons and Café claimed the gold medal after Eslapor’s net touch violation, 21-10.
Hora treated the tournament as an avenue for exposure and learning from UP’s Eslapor, a veteran beach volleyball player. “I had good chemistry with my partner even though our preparation for the tournament was short,” Hora revealed.
Moreover, the Blue Eagle unveiled that she is looking forward to being stronger, more aggressive, and more trustworthy in her future conquests on the sand court. “In beach volleyball, this is where you learn how strong your heart [passion] is,” she said.
