SANTA ROSA, Laguna — The Alas Pilipinas men’s beach volleyball team saw its Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge campaign cut short on Friday after withdrawing due to health concerns.
Roniel Rosales experienced a sudden spike in blood pressure the day before, prompting a precautionary decision for him and partner Ranran Abdilla to pull out of the prestigious tournament at the Nuvali Sands Courts here.
“You could really see that my partner’s body hadn’t fully recovered. He’s feeling a bit better now, but he’s still not in good condition to play. He recovered a little from yesterday, but not enough. His head still hurts,” Abdilla said.
“I told him that our game is at 10:30 under extreme heat. Maybe he can still play, but the big question is whether he can actually finish the match.”
With Abdilla and Rosales withdrawing, England’s Frederick Bialokoz and Issa Batrane advanced via walkover, 21-0, 21-0, in the competition organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission under chairman Patrick Gregorio.
Rosales earlier received medical attention during the second set of their opening-day match against Americans Hagen Smith and Ryan Ierna.
He was eventually unable to continue, forcing the host pair to concede, 21-10, 3-2.
“We already talked about it, and of course, this wasn’t something we wanted to happen. Situations like this really happen sometimes. Actually, I experienced something similar last year too. So I think it’s really about acceptance and learning from it,” Abdilla said.
“We realized that we really need to take care of our health better. Proper nutrition and care of the body should always be the number one priority. That’s now part of our preparation moving forward.”
Abdilla also expressed hope that the Alas men’s beach volleyball program will still get the chance to compete in the Asian Games, while eyeing more international exposure in China and Chinese Taipei under the support of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
The withdrawal officially marked the Philippines’ exit from the tournament, following the pool-play elimination of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons in the women’s division on Thursday.
In Pool B, Chase Budinger and Trevor Crabb of Team USA completed a two-game sweep after a 21-19, 21-11 win over Brazil’s Henrique de Barros and Mateus Rodrigues in the four-day beach volleyball tilt backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Rebisco, Akari, Ayala Land, and PLDT.
Austria’s Julian Horl and Laurenc Grossig eliminated Canada’s Luke de Greeff and Tynan Gannett, 21-13, 21-15, in Pool B.
Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov also secured a second win in Pool A with a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Lithuania’s Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas, while Denmark’s Jacob Brinck and Nicolai Houmann beat compatriots Kristoffer Abell and Christian Andersen, 21-16, 21-19.
Germany’s Phillip Huster and Sven Winter topped Pool C after a 21-17, 21-19 win over Australia’s Joshua Howat and Luke Ryan in the tournament hosted by the City of Santa Rosa and supported by Medical City South Luzon and Jersey Haven.
Austria’s Paul Pascariuc and Alexander Horst also completed a two-game sweep in Pool D after turning back Poland’s Piotr Kantor and Filip Lejawa, 21-18, 21-19.
Julian Friedli and Jonathan Jordan of Sweden topped Pool E with a 21-14, 21-19 win over Ukraine’s Anton Moiseiev and Vitalii Savvin.
Germany’s Maximilian Just and Lui Wust completed a perfect Pool F campaign after surviving compatriots Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter in three sets, 16-21, 21-10, 15-10.
Australia’s Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood remained unbeaten in Pool G after a 21-17, 21-15 win over Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri.
Switzerland’s Adrian Heidrich and Yves Haussener capped Pool H action with a 21-14, 21-12 victory over Smith and Ierna.
