MANILA, Philippines – Sixteen men's beach volleyball pairs braved the blazing heat on Thursday to compete in the qualifying event of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open at the Sands SM By the Bay.

For the first time, Manila is hosting a one-star event with 16 men's and 16 women's teams contesting the top prize of $10,000 as well as tournament ranking points.

Twelve men's teams are already seeded in the main draw, including four Filipino pairs. The other four spots are being contested as of press time.

"We're very happy that we're able to host the FIVB Manila World Tour here," said Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) founder Bea Tan, whose organization played a big role in bringing the FIVB event to the Philippines for the first time.

"Now, we see the direction that we're going in having the regional tours and the national championship. It leads up to this international event," she explained.

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Tan hopes that in bringing the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour to Manila, Filipino players will see that there are plenty of opportunities for them to play the sport abroad, particularly in other Asian countries.

"We can really focus on the Asian Tours," she said.

The event formally opened with a ceremonial serve on Thursday afternoon at the Sands SM By the Bay.

Meanwhile, the formal draw will be held on Thursday night to determine the seeding for the main draw on Friday.

The round-of-12 and the quarterfinals will be on Saturday, with the semifinals and the finals to be held on Sunday.

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