By Asha Marie Robles

16 teams battled it out on the sand Sunday at Jimmy Dee’s beach bar to win the title as the 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Champions. Despite the scorching heat, players from all teams came out to play and gave some friendly competition.

The two-day event played out well on Saturday where all 16 teams broke down into 4 groups. Each group of 4 played each other to see where they would stand in Sunday’s playoff matches. The Blazing Typhoons bested the Custom Fitness Lions 5-2 in the winner take all game.

“The best way to learn rugby is by playing touch rugby”, says coordinator Matt Sgro. “I was watching T.V. one day and saw people playing beach rugby, so I did a little bit of research and found out that beach rugby is huge in Australia, New Zealand, and San Diego. From there I figured what better way than to do this than to do it on Guam. It’s made to be here on Guam”.

Guahan Soldier player of the game Joshua Abisia who scored two of his teams five tries.

Though last December’s tournament may have been slightly bigger, Sgro noticed the difference in inexperienced players showing up to play in this summer’s tournament. “Eventually you end up seeing these beginners participating in the Heineken 7’s and 15’s and that’s the beauty behind these beach rugby tournaments. It inspires people to want to take it to the next level”, states Sgro.

This summer’s championship match saw the Blazing Typhoons demolish the Custom Fitness Lions with a 5-2 win.

Starting off the game with the first try was Blazing Typhoon’s Cera Taguacta who scored from a handoff by teammate Nate Baza. Baza then found his way to the corner of the try zone to pick up his team to a 2-0 lead. The Custom Fitness Lions were quick to respond with their first try by Logan Reyes. With a 2-1 lead, Baza picked up his speed and got the breakaway through two Custom Fitness Lion defenders scoring his second try of the game.

The Custom Fitness Lions had a few good runs and try attempts but the Blazing Typhoon’s defense was unbreakable. After receiving a quick pass, Joshua Abisia of the Blazing Typhoons took a dive past defenders to score his first try of the game helping his team to a 4-1 lead.

Custom Fitness Lion’s Ryan Claros got his team on the move by gaining a couple of feet and handing the ball off to teammate Brian Ramiro who made his teams last try of the game.

Kimberly Taguacta of the Blazing Typhoons makes a run for the try zone. (Photo by Asha Robles)

With time running out, Abisia took one last dive into the try zone to score the last point of the match ending the game at 5-2.

“Coming together as a team is what got me to make my first try and after that I just kept pushing and eventually got another one”, says Abisia, who was named player of the match by his teammates. “It all about teamwork and it helps that our team is made up of siblings who know how to play the game”.

In the consolation game, the Olympus Doks triumphed over the Sandy Buttcracks for the 3rd place win.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Ryan Claros of the Custom Fitness Lions looks for open space to run. (Photo by Asha Robles)

Ryan Claros of the Custom Fitness Lions looks for open space to run. (Photo by Asha Robles)

The Olympus Doks defeated the Sandy Buttcracks to win 3rd place in this summer’s 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Tournament. (Photo by Asha Robles)

The Olympus Doks defeated the Sandy Buttcracks to win 3rd place in this summer’s 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Tournament. (Photo by Asha Robles)

The Olympus Doks defeated the Sandy Buttcracks to win 3rd place in this summer’s 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Tournament. (Photo by Asha Robles)

The Olympus Doks defeated the Sandy Buttcracks to win 3rd place in this summer’s 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Tournament. (Photo by Asha Robles)

The Olympus Doks defeated the Sandy Buttcracks to win 3rd place in this summer’s 4th Heineken Beach Rugby Tournament. (Photo by Asha Robles)

Payless Bagger’s Jake Benito and Shark Bait’s Matt Robles sprint towards a loose ball. (Photo by Asha Robles)

Payless Bagger’s Jake Benito and Shark Bait’s Matt Robles sprint towards a loose ball. (Photo by Asha Robles)