Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons completed a thrilling 17-21, 21-16, 16-14 reverse sweep of fellow Alas Pilipinas pair Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez in an all-national team final to claim the women’s crown at the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Beach Volleyball National Open, organized by Beach Volleyball Republic, Saturday night at the Nuvali Sand Courts in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
After breezing through their first three matches, Rondina and Pons faced their toughest challenge yet in Villapando and Rodriguez, who took the opening set and looked poised for an upset. But the decorated duo responded with urgency and composure, taking the next two sets to cap a perfect 5-0 run in the one-day tournament.
Rondina and Pons, continuing their beach volleyball comeback, were dominant in their earlier matches, not dropping a single set. They swept National University Nazareth School’s Faith Mangyao and Liezl Dejan, 21-11, 21-6, and the University of the Philippines’ Euri Eslapor and Kassie Doering, 21-12, 21-15, during the pool stage.
They then dispatched fellow Alas Pilipinas teammates Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario, 21-9, 21-12, in the quarterfinals and followed it up with a 21-15, 21-19 win over Sofiah Pagara and Khy Progella in the semifinals.
(C) BVR
Villapando and Rodriguez advanced to the finals with an emphatic 21-13, 21-11 sweep of NU’s Kizil Doren Quijote and Honey Grace Cordero in the Final Four.
On the men’s side, James Buytrago and Jude Garcia, teaming up for the first time, took home the championship after Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga were forced to retire from the final due to muscle cramps.
Buytrago and Garcia won the first set, 21-14, and were leading 9-5 in the second when Rosales went down with cramps and could no longer continue. The match was awarded to Buytrago and Garcia, who completed their own unbeaten run in the tournament.
(C) BVR
The duo was dominant throughout the day, sweeping UP’s Christian Pitogo and Angelo Lipata, 21-16, 21-11, and Intra Asian Volleyballista’s Krung Arbasto and Dominique Gabito, 21-15, 21-14, in the group stage.
They then cruised past College of Saint Benilde’s Mark Jun Garcia and Alvin Sulayman, 21-14, 21-15, in the quarterfinals before outplaying Alas Pilipinas teammates Ranran Abdilla and Edwin Tolentino, 21-15, 21-17, in the semifinals.
Rosales and Varga, for their part, pulled off a hard-fought 21-17, 20-22, 15-13 victory over NUNS’ Alex Cabatuan and Sky Gemarino in their Final Four clash.
Pagara and Progella, both standouts from the University of Santo Tomas, claimed the women’s bronze medal after outlasting Quijote and Cordero, 21-16, 22-20.
Abdilla and Tolentino rounded out the men’s podium finishers.
A total of 27 teams—12 in the women’s division and 15 in the men’s—competed in the one-day tournament, which also featured grassroots development efforts.
On Friday, more than 60 participants took part in the first-ever Sandroots Nuvali beach volleyball workshop. Philippine national team head coach Joao Luciano Kiodai, along with his coaching staff and members of the Alas Pilipinas men’s and women’s squads, facilitated the clinic, where participants received free t-shirts.
The Sandroots program, launched alongside BVR’s inception in 2015, aims to identify, train, and nurture emerging beach volleyball talent in the country. It continues to support aspiring local players through its development initiatives during BVR on Tour events.
