By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolod Tay Tung High School Thunderbolts’ Alyssa Bertolano and Kiesha Bedonia clinched the crown in the 1st Invitational Royal Villa Resort Open Beach Volleyball last Sunday in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental.

Bertolano and Bedonia, who both hailed from Talisay City, Negros Occidental, ruled the competition after defeating the tandem of Melody Pons and Frenche Premaylo in the finals.

It was a surprising victory for Bertolano and Bedonia, who were recruited to play for University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons and Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws, respectively, as this was their first time to compete in beach volleyball.

“I am delighted because this is my first time to compete in beach volleyball,” Bertolano said. “There were really no expectations because we just joined here to gain the experience of playing in beach volleyball.”

On their way to the championship round, the pair of Bertolano and Bedonia outdueled Jossa Sumande and Nikka Ann Medina, also a recruit by the Lady Tamaraws, in the semifinals.

Pons and Premaylo, on the other hand, prevailed over Bacolod Tay Tung’s Aurea Claudette Alvero and Alex Montoro to reach the championship match.

Alvero and Montoro, meanwhile, salvaged their campaign in the tournament by bagging the bronze medal at the expense of the tandem of Sumande and Medina in the Battle for Third place.

Apart from Bertolano-Bedonia and Alvero-Montoro, the other Bacolod Tay Tung pairs that participated were Alijah Ysulan and Ysabelle Chua and Ann Monares and Ana Hermosura.

“We participated in the tournament because we wanted our players to know the feel of playing in beach volleyball,” said Thunderbolts assistant coach Roberto Calamba Jr. “It was just nice that one of our pairs ended up with the championship.”

The 1st Invitational Royal Villa Resort Open Beach Volleyball, which was played during the past three Sundays, was supported by the local government unit of Pontevedra and followed the health and safety protocols./ASC, WDJ