SUBIC, Zambales — The Philippine contingent made sure that a long medal drought on the sands of the Southeast Asian Games would end on Friday morning.
The celebrated duo of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons and the battle-tested tandem of Dzi Gervacio and Dij Rodriguez both imposed their will over Singapore, salvaging bronze medal in the women’s beach volleyball tournament at the converted Subic Tennis Court.
Coming off a two-set loss to Thailand that blurred their chances of gold, Rondina and Pons vented their ire on Serene Ng and Ee Shan Lau. They orchestrated a straight-set thumping of the Singaporeans, 21-17, 21-13, to set the tone for the Philippines.
Gervacio and Rodriguez then followed suit in Game Two. The Filipina pair turned back Singapore’s Eliza Hui Hui Chong and Gladys Lee and walked away with a 21-18, 21-16 result.
This is the first time since 2005 that the Philippines has captured a medal on the sands in the biennial meet. The last Filipinas who pulled off such a feat were Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua for the bronze medal.
