DAGUPAN CITY – One of the summer surprises in the city’s celebration of Bangus Festival 2006 is the staging of the five-day Beach Volleyball Championship Games that involves lots of action and spiking on the white sand on April 27 to May 1 at the City Plaza.
 

Mayor Benjamin Lim will lead the ceremonial serve during the opening ceremony at 8 am to formally open the competition.
 

According to Manny Gatchalian, chairman of the event, top-rate volleyball teams from universities and colleges in Manila were invited to participate in the event such as: the University of the Philippines, University of Sto. Tomas, Far Eastern University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle – St. Benilde College, PATTS University of Aeronautics, St. Louis University and University of Cordilleras.
 

Gatchalian bared that movie actress Isabel Granada was invited to participate in the beach volleyball women’s division to represent PATTS University.
 

“We will give the beach volleyball competition a touch of summer in Boracay by bringing white sand at the city plaza,” said Bangus Festival 2006 chairman Nick Aquino as he noted that cash prizes at stake await the winning teams.
 

The winning team will receive a total of P15,000 cash prize, P12,000 for the second place and P10,000 for the third place. Each of the winning teams will also take home unique, bangus-inspired trophies as a fitting memento for their active participation in Daguapn City’s celebration of Bangus Festival 2006.
 

“The Beach Volleyball is returning to the scene, bigger as ever,” said Aquino after the enormous success of the said event during its first staging in the 2003 celebration of Bangus Festival. “This was organized in support of the City Government to promote, develop and improve beach volleyball as a serious sport especially for the aspiring volleyball athletes,” he added.
 

Gatchalian said that the panel of judges and referees are members of the Philippine Volleyball Federation. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)