SANTA ANA, Cagayan — It took 785 days for the power duo of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons to become BVR on Tour champions, but it was worth the wait.
Representing Creamline 1, Rondina and Pons remained untouchable, pulling off a dominant 21-10, 21-16 victory over Good Health-CDO’s Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor to capture the first leg championship Monday here.
The Cool Smashers went unbeaten in six matches. They have also not yielded a set in the bubble.
One of the winningest BVR athletes, Rondina captured her fourth gold overall – and second with her enduring partnership with Pons. They also emerged victorious in the Lianga, Surigao del Sur leg on Sept. 1, 2019 before the tour went into a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second and final leg is on Thursday at the same Santa Ana venue. For Rondina, she simply looks forward to delivering again with Pons. The two, as part of the Philippine team, continue to prepare for next month’s Asian Seniors Beach Volleyball Championship.
“Kailangan maging focused kami sa mga goals namin,” said Rondina after the awards ceremony.
Creamline actually had a golden double. Krung Arbasto and Jude Garcia outlasted PLDT’s Rancel Varga and Efraem Dimaculangan, 21-19, 19-21, 15-12, in a back and forth men’s final to win the crown.
Arbasto took over as the Cool Smashers pulled away from a 12-12 stalemate in the deciding set to prevail in the intense match. He wins his second BVR gold,
Creamline 2, which also won over PLDT in pool play, went undefeated in the first leg bubble at 7-0.
Garcia put his team at 20-19 before the Cool Smashers clinched the opening set after Varga’s hit went out.
He also finally nailed his first BVR championship
PLDT regrouped just in time after squandering a 15-10 lead, with Dimaculangan nailing a kill to force a decider.
Rondina and Pons stamped their class in a 21-8, 21-8 win over Biogenic’s Heather Guino-o and Roma Joy Doromal. That forced a championship showdown with Barbon and Eslapor. The latter rallied from a set down to fashion out a 16-21, 21-17, 15-9 victory over Creamline 2’s Dij Rodriguez and Dzi Gervacio in the other half of the semifinals.
Gervacio and Rodriguez settled for the bronze following a 21-18, 21-14 decision over Guino-o and Doromal.
Arbasto and Garcia overcame EVI Construction’s KR Guzman and Doy Barrica, 21-13, 21-14, to arrange a finals duel with Varga and Dimaculangan. The latter two tripped Creamline 1’s Ranran Abdilla and Jaron Requinton, 22-20, 21-15, in the other semis pairing.
Abdilla and Requinton achieved a podium finish following a 21-13, 21-17 romp of Guzman and Barrica.
The BVR on Tour Santa Ana is sponsored by Smart Sports, Santa Ana LGU, Tuguegarao LGU, Board Member Aj Ponce, Congressman Junjun Nolasco, TikTok Philippines, EVI Construction, Savepoint Plus, Xentro Mall, Toyota Tuguegarao, Ibuprofen Paracetamol Alaxan FR, Summit Natural Drinking Water, Enervon and Enervon Activ; and supported by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
