Alas Pilipinas’ Ranran Abdilla and Lerry Francisco suffered their second consecutive loss on Thursday, bowing out of the men’s beach volleyball event of the 20th Asian Games at Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court in Japan.
Abdilla and Francisco mounted a brave stand in the second set after a lopsided opening frame, but it was not enough as they absorbed a 14-21, 26-28 defeat to Oman’s Hood Al Jalaboubi and Mazin Al Hashimi.
The loss dropped the Filipinos to 0-2 in Pool A, while Qatar and Oman, both at 1-0, are assured of the top two spots and advancement to the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, Ronniel Rosales and James Buytrago (1-1) will need to win their final group-stage match against Indonesia’s Sofyan Efendi and Bintang Akbar on Sunday to keep their Round of 16 hopes alive.
On the women’s side, both Sofiah Pagara and Khy Progella (2-0) and Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons (1-0) have already secured spots in the Round of 16.
Rondina and Pons will battle Kazakhstan’s Merey Kozakhmet and Laura Kabulbakeva for the Pool E top seed on Friday. Meanwhile, Pagara and Progella will face Hong Kong’s Wong Man Ching and Tsang Ngok Ling for the Pool G top spot on Saturday.
