By Adrian Stewart Co

Newly-formed Negros Occidental Beach Volleyball Club will have its baptismal of fire in the two-leg Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour in Santa Ana, Cagayan.

The club will be sending its women’s team of Bianca Lizares and Mary Jolyn Ebro (Team Delimondo) and men’s team of Deanne Neil de Pedro and Eljhay Ronquillo in the tourney.

Lizares is a veteran campaigner in the sands as she finished second runner up with fellow Negrense Jennifer Cosas in the 2019 Philippine SuperLiga and in the BVR on Tour Bantayan Island leg in 2018.

Prior to that, Lizares was a former standout of St. John’s Institute before being recruited to play for College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers, where she won an NCAA women’s volleyball title in 2016.

Lizares then returned to her hometown in Bacolod City to finish her collegiate career with the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod. She also played for Sta. Lucia and Creamline beach volleyball teams.

Ebro, on the other hand, was a former volleybelle of Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws before joining University of Santo Tomas beach volleyball program.

The Silay City, Negros Occidental-native Ebro will be paired with Lizares for the first time in the sands but is not also new to beach volleyball club scene as she was part of Cignal HD before.

The Kabankalan-native De Pedro and Bago City-native Ronquillo, on the other hand, were familiar partners in the sands after being featured in a number of tournaments in Negros Occidental.

The two-leg BVR on Tour is to be played in a bubble environment on October 21-24 and 28-31 at the Blue Coast Beach Hotel in Santa Ana, Cagayan Valley./ASC, WDJ