Volleyball…Beijing 2008

An article from the Inquirer on the qualification round of the Phuket Open.

Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua maintained their steady drive toward the Beijing Olympics after barging into the main draw of the FIVB World Tour Thailand Open Wednesday in Karon Beach in Phuket.

The Filipino-American beach spikers displayed their readiness to tab a slot to the 2008 Games by trashing a pair of Kazakhs, 21-12, 21-14, to get into the money round of the last event in the 17-leg 2007 FIVB World Tour.

As of last count, the RP duo are already in the top 41 in the world and an impressive finish in the Thailand leg would boost their stock in the provisional Olympic list, which will only accommodate 24 pairs worldwide.

They will see action today against seeded opponents. Though the draw has yet to be released, what could be waiting for Ilustre and Pascua are heavily favored teams from the United States, China and Brazil.

The US has two teams in the $200,000-tournament, including reigning Olympic champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, who are also assured of the top spot in the provisional Olympic list.

Also crowding the top of the main draw are China’s Jia Tian and Jie Wang and Brazil’s Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca.

Ilustre and Pascua steered the Philippines to bronze-medal finishes in the 2005 Southeast Asian Games and the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

They are also expected to banner the beach volley teams in the Thailand SEAG on December 6-16, along with homegrown Michelle Carolino and Michelle Laborte, Mowrey Chad, Parley Tupaz, Christian Tuyay and Rhovyl Verayo.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 10:05 pm and is filed under Beach Volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.