Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons made a valiant run in their long-awaited beach volleyball comeback but fell short of a semifinal berth in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali, Saturday at the Nuvali Sand Courts.
The Filipino tandem, competing in their first beach volleyball tournament after two years of focusing on indoor play, bowed to Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Ioana Alupei in a tight quarterfinal clash, 21-18, 19-21, 12-15.
“We have a lot to work on,” admitted Pons. “I was looking to get that one kill block because that would have been huge in a close match like this. But this is still a good start and we’ll do better in the next events.”
Despite the loss, Pons expressed pride in their performance, given the short preparation time.
“I’m proud of our performance here. The preparation was really short, but we worked hard for this. Unfortunately, we fell short,” she said, noting they had less than a week to train for the 19-team tournament.
Rondina delivered her trademark firepower but seemed visibly frustrated with some off-target hits.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity and we deeply appreciate the warm reception,” said the 28-year-old Rondina. “So amazing! It just feels so bad that it ended early.”
Rondina also emphasized that this is just the beginning of their journey back, with the Southeast Asian Games in December already on their radar. “I will do everything I can to fight for medals in future tournaments,” she vowed.
Earlier in the day, the Filipino pair thrilled the crowd with a 21-16, 21-17 victory over Vanuatu’s Sherysyn Toko and Majabelle Lawac, champions in the 2023 Australia Beach Volleyball Tour, after coming from behind to beat the Netherlands’ Danieke Prins and Annemieke Driessen in the Round of 16, 23-25, 21-11, 15-10.
But fatigue and relentless opposition caught up with other Filipino teams.
Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara ran out of gas in their quarterfinal match, succumbing to New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia MacDonald, 17-21, 14-21. The Kiwi duo previously clinched silver in the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open.
In the men’s division, James Buytrago and Rancel Varga, silver medalists in last year’s Futures Nuvali leg, could not replicate their magic, falling to Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, 21-17, 21-15.
The Philippine duo had earlier dispatched Australia’s Finley Bennett and Jed Walker, 21-17, 21-16, in the Round of 12 after beating Hungary’s Domonkos Doczi and Bence Attila Streli, 21-15, 21-19.
Still, the performances earned praise from Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who also heads the Asian Volleyball Confederation and serves as Executive Vice President of the FIVB.
“Sisi and Bernadeth played very well, the chemistry is still there,” Suzara said. “Making the quarterfinals in this field is impressive.”
Suzara said Rondina, Pons, and the rest of the national beach volleyball pool will continue to compete in overseas events — including tournaments in Europe — in a bid to gain points for a potential wild card entry to the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide this November.
