Santa Rosa City: Alas Pilipinas duo Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons concluded their stint at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali with a hard-fought loss to Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Ioana Alupei, finishing 21-18, 19-21, 12-15, on Saturday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Rondina and Pons, who have been focusing on indoor volleyball for the past two years, faced a challenging return to the beach volleyball scene. Reflecting on the match, Pons expressed pride in their efforts given the limited preparation time but acknowledged there is room for improvement. She remarked on the impact a single kill block could have had in such a close match and remained optimistic about future events.
Rondina, 28, shared her gratitude for the opportunity and the warm reception they received, setting her sights on the Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December as a key target for a medal.
In another quarterfinal match, Filipino pair Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara were defeated by New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia MacDonald, with scores of 17-21, 14-21. Prior to this, the University of Santo Tomas partners had secured victories over teams from the Netherlands and Vanuatu.
In the men’s division, Filipinos James Buytrago and Rancel Varga, who previously won silver, were bested by Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov with a score of 21-17, 21-15. Buytrago and Varga had earlier triumphed over teams from Australia and Hungary.
PNVF president Ramon Suzara expressed hope that the top Filipino pairs can accumulate enough points for a potential wild card entry into the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australia, in November. He praised Rondina and Pons for their impressive performance in reaching the quarterfinals.
Elsewhere, Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame advanced to the women’s final after defeating Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite. They will face New Zealand’s Polley and MacDonald, who emerged victorious against Vaida and Alupei.
In the men’s division, Israel’s Elazar and Cuzmiciov secured a spot in the final against Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf, who dispatched Latvia’s Oskars Bulgacs and Matiss Graudins.
