MANILA – Negrenses Jayrack Dela Noche and Alexander Iraya will carry the Philippine colors when they compete in the U19 and U21 Asian Juniors Beach Volleyball Championships in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand in July.
Both from Victorias City in Negros Occidental, Dela Noche and Iraya, are currently training in their province under the supervision of head coach Dondon Verayo and Teshi Ea.
These two players are standouts from the University of Santo Tomas High School’s boys beach volleyball team mentored by head coach Jan Paul Doloiras.
The Junior Tiger Spikers – led by Dela Noche and Iraya – were ahead in the UAAP Season 82 juniors beach volleyball standings in 2020, before the league halted due to the pandemic.
These two Negrenses were also requested to join the Philippine National Volleyball Federation’s beach volleyball tryouts, recently in Zambales.
Meanwhile, the Creamline Cool Smashers beach volleyball team is also under preparation, ahead of their stint in AVC Continental Cup in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand on June 18.
The Cool Smashers’ women’s team will be bannered by Negrense Bernadeth Pons and Cherry Rondina. Jude Garcia and Anthony Arbastro will lead the men’s team.
The Cool Smashers are on their third week of bubble training camp in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. They are also preparing for the continental qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“We’ve been training for almost two weeks. Apart from getting used to the heat, we also have already desensitized to the routinary twice-a-day sand court training,” said Cool Smashers beach volleyball program head Charo Soriano.
“In between our sand court training, Coach Paolo Escaño, our strength and conditioning coach, makes sure the players are ready for their upcoming international competitions,” she added.
Apart from the Tokyo Olympics, the Pons-Rondina and Garcia-Arbastro tandems will battle in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games beach volleyball in Vietnam./PN
