Sun Soaked The Ilocos Sur Beach Fest 2018 . A Heck Of A Weekend!
New Venue. Three Sporting events. Burning Sand. Fantastic Beach Ultimate action. Parokya Ni Edgar.
The 2018 Sun Soaked Beach Fest was definitely the perfect Opening Salvo of Beach Ultimate season in the Philippines. Now on its 5th season, Sun Soaked organizers finally found a venue in Ichthus Beach Resort located in Magsingal, Ilocos Sur that can accommodate all three beach sporting events in one place (Beach Ultimate, Beach Volleyball, Dragonboat). Though it was about 20-25 minutes away from Vigan City, Ichthus Beach Resort is the perfect venue for the event. Beach Volleyball stars like Bea Tan and Amanda Villanueva dominating the Beach Volley net; International Paddlers like the Boracay All-Stars charging the waters of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur; The highflyers of Ultimate led by our National players Boboy Famorcan, Xtian Guerrero, Popoy Pascua, Dada liboon, Bolantoy Francisco, Qhinjune Villanueva, Jeff Dela Cerna, Brylle Quimintan, Kenneth De Guzman, Pao Peralta, Marv Debouzet, Mikko Gonzalez, Vincent Balucanag, April Adalim, Kyrah Tuvilla, Angelique Cortez, Ysa Chua, U24 National players, Dann Avena, Jessica Resch, AJ Baliong, Diego Barrios, there's too many to mention. The playing field was full of stars and there's only one thing that you expect from these men and women when they step foot on the sands of Magsingal... Greatness.
Most of the games ended quickly and you can easily identify the top teams of this year's Sun Soaked. As expected, the players tackled the sand with no fear, flying from one end zone to another, converting goals or grabbing an impressive layout D. But the real enemy was not the opposing team that you are about to go up against or the 8 hour road trip from Manila to Ilocos, but the unforgiving heat of the sun that makes the grey sands of Ichthus Beach Resort unbearable to walk on barefoot. That might be one of the reasons why some of the games ended quickly because the players wanted the games to be over as soon as possible, to stay away from the hellish sands. I've seen a lot of players wearing sand socks before, but last weekend was the first time that I saw a few players wore slip-ons during the game. Every time they score a goal, they all rush to the sidelines, make a sand pit, pour water in it and dunk their feet in for a few seconds of cool comfort. Did that make them stop from playing one hundred percent? No, it didn't. They all went out there with the same intensity all day long.
The AAU crew started shooting Day 2 during the quarterfinal round as Manila United, Mulatto and Boracay NexGen went on cruise control during their games, dominating the still scorchy Magsingal sand. The Tandang Sora Pleasure (TSP) - Pancake game, on the other hand, was intense as the Popoy led TSP was up for most of the game. Pancake worked as a team the whole time to close the gap putting their female players to good use (Angelique and Ysa), but came in short and gave TSP the chance to battle Mulatto in the Semis. The semifinal game between Manila United and Boracay NexGen was, in my opinion, the game of the tournament. The game was scheduled at high noon where the heat was unbearable. Both teams were mostly composed of the seasoned Veterans and the future of the Beach Ultimate Legends, The Boracay Dragons. If you were watching the game, it was basically a showcase of what was the past-present and the future of the said team. It was full of action, Intensity and quite a lot of fun to watch. The NexGen who were being guided by one the best handlers in the Philippines, Boboy Famorcan & Qhuinjune, AJ Maming and Jessica Resch leading the pack managed to cut down the big lead of Manila United and forced the game to Universe point. But experience always wins games as Xtian, Dada, Pao Peralta, and April Adalim scored the final point of the game and will face the unbeatable Mulatto in the 2018 Sun Soaked Beach Ultimate Championship game.
The sun finally decided to hide behind the clouds, and the sands in Ichthus Beach resort cooled down, the stage was set for the final battle. Team Mulatto, led by Brylle Quimintan, Vincent Balucanag, Jeff Dela Cerna, Rex "Black Daddy" Villanueva, Kyrah Tuvilla and Mimi Balancar came out strong, putting up a very comfortable early lead in the game. Manila U tried to cut the lead down, but the lightfooted on sand players from Mati, Davao and the rest of Visayas and Mindanao took control of both ends of the field to improve their third place finish last year. Team Mulatto is the 2018 Sun Soaked Beach Ultimate Champions. A perfect way to start the season for the team who will represent our country in the upcoming World Ultimate Club Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio this July.
As the day turns to darkness, all of the athletes from Beach Volley, Dragonboat and Beach Ultimate had a wonderful buffet dinner during the awards night, unlimited cans of beer being served and Sun Soaked would never be the same without a Band giving us a rockin' night in Ilocos Sur. This year, Parokya Ni Edgar took the house with classic hits from the past and the present. It was a perfect way to end a very successful Beach Fest.
Filipinos are really good at Beach Ultimate. (We are number 4 in the world in both Mens and Mixed Division during The World Championships of Beach Ultimate in Royan, France) And we all know that we have a LOT of beautiful beaches around the country. It would be awesome to see if we also focus our attention on beach ultimate just like we are trying to focus our attention on single-gender ultimate. Kudos to places like Ilocos, La Union, Siargao, Nasugbu, Mati and of course Boracay for putting up venues for Beach Ultimate through the years. And I'm really hoping to see more beach tournaments in our country in the coming years because I believe that we are really that good on sand.
Congratulations to all the organizers of the 2018 Sun Soaked Ilocos Sur Beach Fest. To the Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur. To Congressman Ronald Singson. Governor Ryan Singson. To Karen Cabrera for making this year’s Sun Soaked Beach Ultimate a success. And to all the teams who traveled for hours just to play and compete in the beaches of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. It was definitely a heck of a weekend!
Pahabol:
With a glass of liquor in my hand, I couldn't hide my tears right in front of dozens of my close friends and families in the Ultimate community one Friday evening in Vigan. To be honest, I couldn't afford to have an upgrade. I'm almost maxed out in my budget for gear maintenance. And I am actually ready to turn my back to the people who I cared for, for the past 3 years. But there are still people in this community who are crazy enough to help me realize my dream. I guess the Ultimate dream lives on.
As what Henry David Thoreau wrote:
"Rather than love, than money, than fame... Give me Truth." In my case.... Give me Friendship.
To the people who gave me REAL Friendship all these years, Thank you for still believing in me.
Thank you for the lens. That's all I gotta say.
For more photos of Sun Soaked 2018:
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