RUPIA Inck and Bea Tan survived a sluggish first set and turned back the duo of Charo Soriano and Alexa Micek, 17-21, 24-22, 15-12, in a thrilling championship match of the Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) Christmas Open on Sunday at the Sands by the Bay at the Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City.
Inck, the Brazilian import of Petron Blaze Spikers in Philippine Superliga (PSL), provided the clutch blows in the neck-and-neck second set to force a decider.
“It just feels so good. This is crazy, this is my first-ever beach volleyball tournament. I always play for fun and I always dream to be a beach volleyball player,” Inck said.
“It’s an honor to have this invitation and I’ve been playing for them the whole week, it really feels so good,” she added.
Soriano and Micek held the match point three times, but Inck kept on forcing the deuces and brought her team at set point, 23-22, followed by Tan’s attack that forged the do-or-die third set.
Holding a 9-3 spread, the Brazilian spiker suffered cramps that led to a five-minute medical break, but she did not back down and continued to play.
However, Micek and Soriano managed to keep within striking distance, trimming the deficit to12-14, but Inck sealed the deal with the championship point.
Inck and Tan reached the finals after a rousing 21-11, 21-17 victory over Bracket A’s top seed Shiela Pineda and Janine Marciano, while Micek and Soriano earned the first finals slot after a 23-21, 21-15 victory over April Hingpit and Maica Morada.
Pineda and Marciano brought home the third place of the tournament with a 21-15, 21-8, over Morada and Hingpit in their battle for third.
Pineda and Marciano dominated the Bracket A, sweeping all four teams in the pool before falling to Inck and Tan in the crossover semis.
The tandem of Tan and Inck beat Soriano and Micek, 21-18, 21-18, in their first meeting during the round-robin stage—part of their three straight victories against Arielle Estranero and Vina Alinas in three sets (21-19, 19-21, 15-6) and against Mariel Sinamban and Julie Anne Tiangco (21-9, 21-7).
Judy Caballejo and Camille Abanto halted the streak in thriller three sets, 21-14, 10-21, 9-15. They finished second in Bracket B with a 3-1 win-loss slate after a three-way tie together with Micek and Soriano, and Caballejo and Abanto.