MANILA, Philippines – The Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) in cooperation with the Aboitiz Group launched a beach volleyball court right in the heart of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) last week.

The court can be found at the AboitizLand's Seafront Residences in Taguig.

"It fits the Seafront Residences' lifestyle and we wanted to start a long-term relationship with Beach Volleyball Republic," said John Amon, the vice president and head of innovation of the Aboitiz Group.

"The Aboitiz Group headquarters is in BGC. We wanted to make a statement since it is our debut project in Luzon. We wanted to do something that no one had done before: Beach volleyball/beach party in the middle of BGC," he added.

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According to BVR founder Bea Tan, a sand court in the city has always been a dream for their group, which also includes former Ateneo de Manila University stars Charo Soriano, Dzi Gervacio, Fille Cainglet-Cayetano, and Gretchen Ho.

"It has been our ultimate dream to host an event in BGC, and having it done so soon gives us more affirmation that we are doing the right thing for the love of beach volleyball," said Tan.

The launch party featured exhibition games played by the BVR founders, along with other collegiate standouts such as Melissa Gohing, Michele Gumabao, Mae Tajima, Amanda Villanueva, Amy Ahomiro, Ella de Jesus, and Kara Acevedo.

The partnership will not end in BGC, however, as BVR and Aboitiz are aiming to host a beach volleyball tournament and other beach sports activities in the future.

"We're very grateful that the sport is now starting to grow bigger and gain support from a company like AboitizLand and the Aboitiz Group," said Tan.

"It's really fate and a shared goal that brought the partnership together. Getting traction like this is very good for the support and we hope to gain more support from the private sector," she added.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)