Alas Pilipinas Women kicked off their campaign with a bang, taking down perennial contender Indonesia, 2-1, in a thrilling debut win in the beach volleyball event of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games on Friday at Sport Arena Jomtien Beach in Chonburi, Thailand.
The duo of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons came to the rescue in the golden match, bouncing back after dropping the opening set and edging out the Indonesians in the next two—including an extended third frame—to secure a nail-biting 15-21, 21-16, 18-16 victory in Pool A.
It was an emotional triumph for the Filipinas, their first over Indonesia in beach volleyball since the event’s return in 2019, ending a string of losses to the same squad across the last three editions of the biennial meet.
“Sobrang mixed emotions talaga kasi ang hirap. Hindi naging madali ‘yung laban namin, talagang pahirapan every puntos so sobrang happy lang din na nakuha namin ‘yung panalo,” said Pons, struggling to hold back tears after the hard-fought victory.
“Syempre sobrang grateful na nakakuha po kami ngayon ng unang panalo. Sobrang hirap din talaga kalaro ‘yung Indonesia, like knowing Indonesia, sobrang palaban din sila and never pa ‘yan namin natalo sa apat na taon [naming] naglalaro ng SEA Games,” added Rondina, who has been competing in the event since 2019.
Rondina and Pons started hot in the series, opening with a 21-16, 18-21, 15-10 win in Game 1 to give Alas the early advantage against Indonesia, which had placed second behind Thailand in the last four SEA Games editions.
The Philippines had a chance to sweep the Indonesians, but the duo of Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez could not capitalize on a strong start, allowing the opposing team to steal Game 2, 21-12, 19-21, 13-15, forcing a golden match.
Brazilian head coach João Luciano Simao Barbosa decided to field the Rondina-Pons duo in the decider, a move that paid off as the pair delivered in the final game to complete the long-awaited victory over Indonesia.
“Ito ‘yung pinakaunang panalo namin against Indonesia and ayun, I’m so proud of our team na natapos namin ng maganda ‘tong Day 1 namin and sa amin kasi ni Pons hugot talaga namin ‘to na makabalik and makabawi talaga sa mga makakalaro namin dito sa SEA Games,” said Rondina.
The Indonesian team was composed of Bernadetta Shella, Josephine Kaize, Nur Atika–Sari, and Desi Ratnasari.
Alas Pilipinas will look to sustain its momentum when they face Singapore on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (Manila time).
