DziSi lone bright spot in early FIVB Beach Volley action

#DziSi with the lone Filipino win in early FIVB Beach play

The duo of Sisi Rondina and Dzi Gervacio served as the lone bright spot early on for the Philippine contingent in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open.

Rondina and Gervacio combined for the only win by a Filipino side so far in the competition, as they beat the American duo of Lindsey Fuller and Kaley Melville, 21-12 21-16.

Although adept with experience in beach volleyball independently, this is the first time that the two joined forces in this partnership. They used a combination of smart plays, solid attacking, and sharp service to beat their taller opposition.

According to Rondina, "We just played. We didn’t look at their perceived advantage over us and we didn’t think of how much bigger and taller they were." The three-time UAAP Beach Volleyball MVP adds, "What we did was just showcase what we were capable of, what we could be proud of as Filipinos in front of the crowd rooting for us."

As for the rest of the Filipino contingent, all the other duos lost their opening matches.

In the women's draw, DM Demontano and Jackie Estoquia lost to the Paraguayan duo of Michelle Amarilla and Erika Bobadilla, 19-21 13-21. Charo Soriano and Bea Tan bowed to the Japanese tandem of Ayumi Kusano and Takemi Nishibori, 10-21 9-21, while Karen Quilario and Lot Catubag lost to the Dutch tandem of Katja Stam and Julia Wouters, 13-21 11-21.

Kusano praised the tandem of Soriano and Tan, referring to them as "very good." She also thought the conditions were "very difficult" and the outside court set up as "very different."

The men's draw had a couple of close calls, with Calvin Sarte and Jade Becaldo narrowly losing to the Swedish duo of Martin Appelgren and Simon Boman, 24-26 23-21 13-15, while Ranran Abdilla and Edwin Tolentino dropped their match against the Hong Kong tandem of Kevin Lao Tsz Ho and Wong Pui Lam, 18-21 22-20 10-15.

The remaining two teams lost in straight sets. Kevin Juban and Raphy Abanto bowed to the Austrian tandem of Florian Schnetzer and Daniel Mullner, 10-21 14-21, while KR Guzman and James Pecana lost to Chinese-Taipei's Wang Chin-Ju and Hsieh Ya-Jen, 20-22 14-21.

Depending on the remaining matches still on tap, the Filipino teams could still make it to the knockout rounds tomorrow via the Round of 12. The winners from that round will advance to the quarterfinals to be played later that day.

The Manila Open is a one-star beach volleyball event organized by Beach Volleyball Republic, with E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd promoting the tournament.