FIVB Manila Open champions crowned

Your women's champions

The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open concluded last night at the Sands SM By The Bay, with the organizers honoring the top three finishers in men's and women's divisions.

The day kicked off with the semifinals, with Ayumi Kusano and Takemi Nishibori topping their fellow Japanese compatriots, Shinako Tanaka and Sakurako Fujii, 21-13 21-16, while Spanish duo of Paula Soria and Maria Belen Carro bested the Paraguayan pair of Erika Bobadilla and Michelle Amarilla, 21-16 21-15.

The men then took to the sands for their semifinal encounters, with the Russian duo of Petr Bakhnar and Taras Myskiv ousted the Spanish Huerta brothers, Alejandro and Javier, 21-18, 17-21, 20-18, while the German pair of Max-Jonas Karpa and Milan Sievers outlasted their Swiss counterparts Michiel Zandbergen and Gabriel Kissling, 21-17 21-16.

In the bronze medal game, Bobadilla and Amarilla made history by securing the first FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour medal for Paraguay, defeating Shinako and Sakurako, 21-17 21-16. They had the chance to do this a week earlier in Langkawi, but fell short in the quarterfinals.

Bobadilla shares, "Well, we finished fifth (in Langkawi) so this was a lot better because we made it to the semifinals. Playing the last game I think is one of the best things for every player. You are so prepared mentally coming to a tournament. Playing in three days, four days or five days." She adds after witnessing how Filipinos took in to the tournament, "We loved Manila. We were so easily adjusted here. Having people being supportive for us is really, really great for us."

The gold medal game then saw Kusano and Nishibori impress against Soria and Carro, claiming the title, 21-14 21-18.

Nishibori would clinch the title with a kill off a feed from Kusano to cap their Manila campaign with six straight victories. They would use their speed and superb sand court coverage to neutralize their height disadvantage.

Kusano, who won the Spike for Peace invitational championship three years ago, shares that they used their brains in securing the championship.

On the men's side, Kissling and Zandbergen beat the Huerta brothers, 22-20 19-21 15-13 for the bronze, while Karpa and Sievers claimed the title with a 15-21 23-21 15-9 win over Bakhnar and Myskiv, capping off the tournament in the evening heat.