Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) celebrates a bookmark third year with the “BVR On Tour December Open 2018,” a special three-day weekend tournament at the SM Sands By The Bay from Friday (December 14) to Sunday (December 16) featuring 22 of the top local beach volleyball squads. The matches on Sunday will be streamed live on the ABS-CBN Sports Youtube channel starting at 5 pm.

Competing in the women’s division are Creamline’s Fille Cainglet-Cayetano and Kyla Atienza, PetroGazz’s Jonah Sabete and Cienne Cruz, BanKo Perlas 1’s Bea Tan and Dzi Gervacio, and UST-Maynilad 1’s Gen Eslapor and Babylove Barbon, UST-Maynilad 2’s Derie Virtusio and Mary Joelene Ebro, NU-Boysen’s Roma Joy Doromal and Kly Orillaneda, Philippine Air Force 1’s Mary Ann Pantino and Jossa Cabalsa, Philippine Air Force 2’s Khaa Andres and Angel Antepuesto, RTU’s Jonna Mae Delima and Arjean Dumlao, and Malaya Business Insight’s Kathy Bersola and Mary Antonette Landicho.

Battling in the men’s division are Air Force’s Ranran Abdilla and Jesse Lopez, NU-Boysen’s Edward Camposano and James Buytrago, Cignal HD 1’s Fauzi Ismail and Edward Bonono, PLDT HOME 2’s “Doc Volleyball” AJ Pareja and Greg Utupo, Army’s Joshua Barrica and Jason Uy, Cignal HD 2’s Karl Baysa and Josh Villanueva, Tiger Winx’s Anthony Arbasto and KR Guzman, UST-Maynilad’s Rancel Varga and Efraem Dimaculangan, Fury Ritemed’s Philip Bagalay and Brian Tan, Malaya Business Insight’s Edwin Tolentino and Ricci Gonzales, PLDT HOME 1’s Henry Pecana and Mark Alfafara, and Wildcard’s Mike Shavrak and Mike Abria.

Winning teams will receive cash prizes amounting to P30,000 for 1^st prize in the men’s and women’s divisions, and P20,000and P10,000for the first and second runners-up, respectively. The weekend also features a Sandroots beach volleyball workshop and celebrity games featuring the likes of Alyssa Valdez and Kiefer Ravena.

BVR had another calendar year in 2018, where it successfully staged nine two-day tourneys, visiting provinces and their breath-taking beaches in Ikthus beach, Ilocos Sur, White Beach, Puerto Galera, Sta. Ana Cagayan, Bantayan Cebu, Blue Beach Dagupan, Legaspi, Gran Ola Surigao, Lio Beach El Nido, and Dumaguete, while also holding a National Championship tourney and a FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour leg.

Bea Tan, one of BVR’s founders expressed gratitude to the organizations and athletes that believe and support in BVR’s mission to grow the sport in the Philippines.

“2018 was a year for great partnerships in BVR. We were able to work together repeatedly with our partner LGUs ever since the start of our BVR on Tour in 2016. On top of that, being able to partner with FIVB and E+ Global in hosting the prestigious FIVB World Tour Manila Open 2018 was an eye opener for all of us as Philippines were able to defeat teams from western countries. This gives us the testament and affirmation that we are not far behind in our goal of growing our game here in the Philippines,” she said.

She also added that one of the biggest achievements for the girls who built BVR was the holding of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour leg.

“One of the tournaments we hosted this year is the first ever FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open last May where we got 16 players from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to be able to represent our country in the prestigious tournament, and hosted 44 teams from different parts of the world. Also we have been consistently holding an average of 12 beach volleyball tournaments since 2016 and is one of the milestones we, in BVR, feel very proud of. Having the ability to organize this world class tournament puts Philippines on the map in the Beach volleyball community across the Globe,” she shared.

For 2019, Tan said they will continue to stage tournaments and volleyball clinics to fulfill their dream of making the Philippines known to be the Asia’s hub for beach volleyball.

Don’t miss the sizzling beach volleyball action brought to you by the BVR On Tour December Open 2018 at the SM Sands By The Bay starting Friday (December 14) until Sunday (December 16). Watch the Sunday matches live online on the ABS-CBN Sports Youtube channel starting at 5 pm.

For news and updates on the tournament, head to sports.abs-cbn.com or follow @abscbnsports on Facebook and Twitter. Also follow @BeachVolleyballRepublic on Facebook and Instagram, and @bvr_ph on Twitter.

For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.abscbnpr.com.