Alas Pilipinas’ Khy Progella and Sofia Pagara held their ground in a gritty war of attrition against China, escaping with a thrilling 22-20, 22-20 victory in the Rebisco Asian Volleyball Confederation Beach Tour Nuvali Open on Friday at the Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Progella and Pagara overcame tense endgame moments against China’s top duo of Yan Xu and Zhou Mingli to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the international beach volleyball tournament.
Despite a nerve-wracking finish filled with service errors—four straight, to be exact—Progella and Pagara displayed remarkable resilience to regain composure and ultimately seal the win over the highly-rated Chinese tandem.
“We had trouble finding the mark on serve when trying to close them out. No excuses but the heat was too much,” said Progella.
The young duo from University of Santo Tomas—19-year-old Progella and 20-year-old Pagara—kept their cool under pressure against the fourth-highest ranked team in the tournament. They even tallied three crucial block points, while their opponents failed to register any.
Alas Pilipinas led by as much as four in the opening set before needing to rally from a four-point deficit in the second.
“They can become a little emotional during these tough situations, but they come through,” said Brazilian coach Joao Luciano Kiodai, who has been guiding the Alas Pilipinas beach volleyball program.
“I think we are still chasing our best, and I think this is good. We need it for future matches. And this is important—that we are able to win even when we didn’t play our really, really, really best,” Kiodai added.
Next up, Progella and Pagara will face Australia’s Elizabeth Alchin and Georgia Johnson—the second-highest seeded team in the draw—for a place in the semifinals.
Alchin and Johnson advanced after outlasting Thailand’s Samitta Simarongnam and Salinda Mungkhon, 19-21, 21-13, 15-10.
Meanwhile, the Alas Pilipinas men’s top pair of James Buytrago and Rancel Varga were on the verge of advancing to the quarterfinals as well, after taking the first set and holding a lead in the second against New Zealand’s John McManaway and James Sadlier.
But the scorching heat proved too much to bear, and Buytrago was forced to retire due to cramps, resulting in a heartbreaking forfeit, 33-35, 21-18, 13-6 in favor of the Kiwis.
“It’s super hot. For any athlete it would be hard to handle that heat. You feel tired and you feel the pain more. Then the cramps happen, but it is what it is. That is the sport. That’s beach volleyball,” said Kiodai.
Earlier in the women’s division, two other Alas Pilipinas pairs saw their campaigns end in the Round of 16.
Air Force’s Alexa Polidario and UST’s Lorien Gamboa fell to Japan’s Saki Maruyama and Miki Ishii, 21-12, 21-10.
Meanwhile, former NCAA Division I athlete Sunnie Kalani Villapando had a short-lived debut for Alas Pilipinas, as she and Philippine Coast Guard’s Jenny Gaviola were eliminated by Japan’s Asami Shiba and Reika Murakami, 6-21, 15-21.
Villapando, who played for Stanford before transferring to the University of Southern California for her fifth year, expressed her commitment to keep competing for the national team.
“This won’t be the last. We’ll be training and competing, we’re looking forward to the Southeast Asian Games,” she said.
