Pugua Time! shines in prime time

Pugua Time! overcame mighty opposition and pulled off a pair of upsets in the San Antonio sand to become the champions of the 7th Annual Miller Lite Coed Four-Person Beach Volleyball League on Thursday night at the Pacific Islands Club by winning the eight-team postseason tournament.

Captain Taula Peter and the chew crew counted on the left arm of leaping Marino Pungilug to rain rockets on the competition all the way to the finals where they dispatched America F@#& Yeah!, 15-10.

Peter hand delivered feather soft sets and Pungilug sent high-speed Yap attacks that few could handle as Pugua Time! powered out win after win through the rain and wind on Saipan’s volleyball hot bed.

Pungilug and Peter received inspired play from teammates Evan Hunsberger, Kelly Butcher, and Kadya Peter, but they also got help from PIC guest Miki Moshmoishi in the opening round.

Were it not for the aid of their tourist friend, Pugua Time!, would have been forced to forfeit in the first round, but Moshimoshi joined the team until the reinforcements arrived when they faced their stiffest competition in the opening round—Got Beer? in the highest scoring game of the night.

The fourth seeded Pugua Time! got all they could handle when they battled Jon Cramer’s brew crew, and while Got Beer? was expected to go deep into the playoffs after pulling out big wins throughout the season, they were unable to overcome the power of Pugua.

Many expected Kitinan Intharaluk and the Hot Myx to walk away with the title after taking the regular season crown with only one loss against their 13 wins, but Saipan’s favorite nuts downed the Bangkok Bomber 15-12 in the semifinals for the biggest upset of the night.

All Pugua Time! had to do was sit and wait for a competitor in the championship as America F@#& Yeah! tried to pull off a similar upset against the second seeded Palaksi.

Patrick Cuffe and the overly patriotic Americans followed up their narrow 15-13 victory over Lick It, Stick It, Smack It with another close one, as they surprised Rannel Calexterio’s slippery squad, 16-14.

The rain did little to help the teams as the sand became packed and the Mikasa volleyballs became water logged, but Mark McDonald’s 84-in. wing-span gave America a clear advantage over its vertically challenged counterpart.

Despite three rounds of exciting play, Cuffe’s rough and tough squad of McDonald, Chris Nelson, Mary Deleon Guerrero, and Heather Hull couldn’t find the answer to Pungilug’s mix of spikes and cuttys.