Italians, Aussies clinch bronze in Nuvali beach volleyball tilt

Australia’s Stefanie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming. Photo c/o PNVF

Italian beach volleyball duo Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri, and Aussie tandem Stefanie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming beat separate foes to clinch bronze medals in in the Volleyball World Beach Volley Pro Tour Challenge at the Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna, on Sunday.

World No. 48 Alfieri and Ranghieri rallied past world No. 28 Christoph Dressler and Philip Waller of Austria, 17-21, 21-18, 15-12, to secure a podium finish in the men’s division.

Fejes and Fleming, ranked No. 58th pair, recovered from a sluggish opening set to defeat No. 45 Kylie Neuschaeferova and Martina Maixnerova of Czechia, 13-21, 21-15, 15-13, in the women’s division.

The Italians combined for 41 points—highlighted by Alfieri’s 19 kills—against the Aussies’ 37 points 
Fejes led the scoring with 19 kills in Australia’s 40 total points while the Czechia had only a combined 35 total points coming from Kylie and Maixnerova.

Earlier on Sunday, crowd favorite twins Joaquin and Javier Bello of Great Britain advanced to the men’s final with a close 11-21, 21-19, 15-11 semifinal win over Italian Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri.

They faced Spain’s Alejandro Huerta and Adrian Gavira in the final set later in the day.

Huerta and Gavira beat Austrians Christoph Dressler and Philip Waller, 22-20, 18-21, 16-14, in the other semifinal.

In women’s semifinal play, Finland’s Anniina Parkkinen and Valma Prihti relied on blocking to beat Czechia’s Kylie Neuschaeferova and Martina Maixnerova, 21-19, 18-21, 15-10, to punch their way to the final against Lithuania’s Leva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite.

The Lithuanians beat Australia’s Stefanie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming, 21-18, 21-18 in the semifinal.

SiPons secures breakthrough BPT Challenge victory

c/o PNVF

SISI RONDINA and Bernadeth Pons repeated over Slovenia’s Ziva Javornik and Tajda Lovsin, 21-19, 21-9, in a round of 32 match on Friday morning to notch the Philippines’ first-ever Challenge victory in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour series at the Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

“We’re very grateful to win our first match in the Challenge level and we hope to sustain our run to advance further in the tournament,” said Rondina, who—with then partner Jovelyn Gonzaga—beat compatriots Genesa Jane “Jen” Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez, 22-24, 21-12, 15-12, in the final of the 2022 Beach Pro Tour Futures in Subic for a 1-2 Philippine finish.

The FIVB’s Beach Pro Tour has five levels—Futures, Challenge, Elite 16, Finals and finally the World Championships.

“This is big for us,” added Rondina who, alongside Pons who are ranked __ in the world, defeated the No. 78 Slovenian pair, 16-21, 21-15, 15-9, in the Futures in Budapest only last month.

Standing in the way of Rondina and Pons is a round-of-24 match against Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Bentele, who are coming off an 18-21, 21-14, 16-18 loss to Australia’s Taliqua Clancy and Jana Milutinovic also on Friday.

A victory by Rondina and Pons over the Swiss which was scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday would mean a breakthrough round-of-16 slot for Alas Pilipinas in the event hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“We just have to believe that we can compete and winning here for the first time in our career has boosted our confidence,” Pons said.

“It’s a great privilege that our athletes are able to play in this level of volleyball and win the match,” Alas Pilipinas’s Brazilian coach Joao “Kioday” Luciano Simao Barbosa said. “It proved that we’re in the right path and hope one day we will be exposed more to this kinds of events.”

Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor, however, lost to USA’s Teegan Van Gunst and Piper Ferch, 19-21, 11-21, and Sonny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez squandered a 13-8 lead in the second set to yield to Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame, 18-21, 25-27, to exit the tournament that ends Sunday.

Alas Pilipinas pairs in must-win situation in Nuvali beach volley worlds

c/o PNVF

FOUR Alas Pilipinas pairs fell short at the start of the main draw action to drop to must-win situations in the Volleyball World 2025 Beach Pro Tour Challenge on Thursday at the Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

First to fall when the sun shone brightly the whole day were James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla to a taller Australian duo of D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse, 21-14, 21-18, in a Pool H  morning session.

In the afternoon, Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor lost to Finland’s Anniina Parkkinin and Vilhelmiina Prihti, 11-21, 15-21, in Pool H and Sonny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez bowed to New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia MacDonald, 19-21, 14-21, in Pool D.

Then the celebrated pair of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons yielded to world-ranked Thainara Mylena Feitosa de Oliveira and Talita Simonetti of Brazil, 17-21, 16-21, in Pool G play.

All’s not lost for Alas Pilipinas though, but they need to win the second of their main draw matches—and get the better end of possible tiebreaks—to advance further in the tournament hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“This is a first time for us in the Challenge, and we learned a lot of new things, but we’re not out yet,” Rondina said. “We’re just grateful that we played them—they’ve been playing the sport for the longest time.”

Rondina and Pons are ranked No. 137 in the world while Oliveira and Simonetti are one of seven world-ranked Brazilan pairs at No. 72.

“We played against a great Brazilian team that can adjust in any situation and they changed the complexion of the game and we couldn’t,” Brazilian coach Joao “Kioday” Luciano Simao Barbosa said. “We must learn from this.”

Up next for Rondina and Pons on Friday are Slovenia’s Ziva Javornik and Tajda Lovsin, who are No. 78 in the world  but fell victims to the Alas aces in the Futures tournament in Budapest only last month, 16-21, 21-15, 15-9.

“We’re hoping we them again,” Kioday said.

Villapando and Rodriguez take on Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame and Eslapor and Orillaneda battle the US’s Teegan Van Gunst and Piper Ferch on Friday.

Buytrago and Abdilla fought for survival against Americans Tim Brewster and Ryan Lerna on Thursday evening.

Buytrago, Abadilla yield to Aussies in FIVB beach volleyball pool play

c/o PNVF

ALAS Pilipinas top pair of James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla held fort only to tumble against a taller Australian duo of D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse, 21-14, 21-18, to start off their pool play in the Volleyball World 2025 Beach Pro Tour Challenge at the Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land on Thursday in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

“We adjusted very well in our strategies to disrupt their plays, but we just couldn’t sustain our game to the end,” said the 26-year-old Buytrago, who played with an injured right index finger. “The paint merely went off during the match maybe because of adrenaline.”

The Alas Pilipinas pair, which clinched bronze in the 2023 Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, gave the Aussies a scare at 18-19 but fell short in the Pool H match.

All’s not lost though for Buytrago and Abdilla—they still have a match on Thursday against Tim Brewster and Ryan Lerna of the US for their knockout round aspirations.

Italy’s Enrico Rossi and Marco Viscovich defeated Brewster and Lerna, 21-12, 22-20, to join Potts and Pearse unbeaten 1-0 slate in Pool H of the weeklong competition hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“We still have a chance if we win against the USA in our later match. I believe we can bounce back later,” Buytrago said.

Indonesia’s Akbar Bintang and Sofyan Rachman Efendi, who won gold in the Beach Pro Tour Futures last year in Wuhan (China), beat Germany’s Philip Huster and Maximilian Just, 23-21, 21-19, in a Pool D duel.

In other men’s results, Spain’s Alejandro Juerta and Adrian Gavira beat Latvia’s Ardis Beritis and Arturs Rinkevics, 21-19, 21-18, in Pool D, and the US’s Logan Webber and Hagen Smith downed Denmark’s Mads Mollgaard and Nicolai Houmann, 21-17, 18-21, 15-12, in Pool B.

Rondina-Pons leads Alas Pilpinas bid in main draw of Nuvali FIVB Beach Volleyball event

Gaviola and Polidario (c/o PNVF)

SISI RONDINA and Bernadeth Pons take on a duo from Brazil and Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez face rivals from New Zealand in the main draw on Thursday hoping to make up for Alas Pilipinas’s bad hair day in the qualification round of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour at the Nuvali Sands Court by the Ayala Land in the City Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Rondina and Pons square off with Mylene Thainarra and Talita Simonetti in the 3 p.m. match of the tournament hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation, with Villapando and Rodriguez tackling Shaunna Polley and Olivia McDonald at 1:20 p.m. both on center court.

Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor will compete against Anniina Parkkinin and Vilhelmiina Prihti in the 2:10 p.m. duel also both at center court.

Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla begin their campaign in the men’s main draw against world No. 47 D’ Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse of Australia also on Thursday at 10:10 a.m.

It wasn’t the way three Alas Pilipinas pairs wanted in the qualification round on Wednesday when the matches in all five courts of the Nuvali facility were played in a drizzle in the morning and under overcast skies the whole day.

Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario had a good chance of pulling off an upset but squandered the opportunity against Canada’s Amanda Harnett and Devin Corah, 15-21, 16-21.

“This is our first time to play together in an international competition, but we gave it our best although we failed to snatch the opportunity,” the 26-year-old Gaviola, playing out of the Philippine Coast Guard and Muntinlupa City said. “We learned a lot of things in this match as we saw how our opponents adjusted when they trailed.”

The 27-year-old Polidario, of the Philippine Army, also said they would learn from the experience to get better ahead of the Thailand 33rd Southeast Asian Games in December.

“It was bad moment. We lost our focus in this mental game,” Alas Pilipinas’s Brazilian beach volleyball coach Joao “Kioday” Luciano Simao Barbosa said. “It’s the same result with our men’s game earlier.”

In the men’s qualifiers, Larry John Francisco and Edwin Tolentino suffered a 15-21, 10-21 loss to Freddie Bialokoz and Issa Batrane of England while Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga fell to Canada’s Luke Se Greeff and Martin Litch, 17-21, 15-21.

“We expect a strong oppositions because we are competing in the Challenge level—far more competitive than the Futures,” Rondina said. “But we will be ready for tomorrow against anybody. We trained for this.”

Alas Pilipinas seeks to earn berths in World Beach Volley main draw

c/o PNVF

THREE Philippines women’s pair led by Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons and two men’s tandems target spots in the main draw in the qualification matches for the Volleyball World 2025 Beach Pro Tour Challenge on Wednesday at the Nuvali Sands Court by the Ayala Land in the City of Santa Rosa in Laguna.

Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga and Edwin Tolentino and Larry John Francisco kick off Alas Pilipinas’s campaign against foreign opponents at 9 a.m. as seeded athletes James Buytrago and Ran Abdilla drew a bye in the qualification round.

“It’s good that we are seeded in this event and we do not need to play in the qualification that will keep us fresh in the main draw,” said Buytrago, who along with Abadilla clinched a bronze medal in the Cambodia 2023 Southeast Asian Games.

The specific pairings will be known only after the preliminary inquiry which was scheduled late afternoon Tuesday.

Buytrago and Abdilla are one of the 24 men’s teams seeded in the 32-pair main draw that starts Thursday.

“We’re hoping to improve on our quarterfinal finish in last year’s BPT although it will not be easy,” added Buytrago, as he acknowledged the rigid training they’ve been getting under Brazilian coach Joao Luciano Simao Barbosa.

“I’ll be playing with an injured index finger so we’ll just give our best,” he said.

Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario, Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez and Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor will also plunge into action in the qualifiers of the FIVB Volleyball World tournament hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

The popular tandem of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons, rank 137th in the world, will see action on Thursday in the main draw.

World’s No. 6 Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson  of Sweden are the men’s defending their champions of the competition that drew 65 men’s pairs from 25 nations and 46 women’s duos from 15 countries.

Rondina-Pons lead Filipino participation in upcoming World Beach Pro Tour Challenge

Rondina. Pons.

SIS RONDINA and Bernadeth Pons and three other local pairs lead the campaign as the Philippines becomes the epicenter anew of global volleyball action in the Volleyball World 2025 Beach Pro Tour Challenge set October 15 to 19 at the Nuvali Sands Court by the Ayala Land in the City of Santa Rosa in Laguna.

Joining the Rondina-Pons tandem in the event organized by the FIVB through Volleyball World are Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario, Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez and Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor.

They are among 111 pairs in the competition hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation led by Ramon “Tats” Suzara and coming off the country’s successful hosting of the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship last month.

“After the world championship hosting, here we are again at the Beach Volley Pro Tour with exciting world-class matches in Nuvali,” Suzara said.

The Philippines will will also be fielding 2023 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist Ran Abdilla and James Buytrago, Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga and Edwin Tolentino and Larry John Francisco in the men’s division.

Sweden’s Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson are back to defend their men’s crown against a formidable field that includes Rio de Janeiro leg champions, brothers Javier and Joaquin Bello of England—they clinched the bronze medal last November also in Nuvali.

Forty-six pairs from 15 countries are seeing action in the women’s competition where Americans Toni Rodriguez and Molly Shaw are the defending champions.

Aussies prove too strong for unheralded Pinoy pairs in BPT Challenge Nuvali

c/o PNVF

EMERGING Australian stars proved too much for two Philippine pairs on opening day of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge Nuvali Thursday in the City of Santa Rosa.

Jasmine Fleming and Elizabeth Alchin, the world No. 123 from Australia, used their height advantage to the hilt, hitting power shots and unreachable lobs in beating the Alas Pilipinas pair of Alexa Polidario and Jen Gaviola, 21-11, 21-13 in the qualifying round.

In a tournament loaded with top FIVB-rated teams from across the globe, even recently-crowned Asian Senior Beach Volleyball champions D’Artagnan Potts and Jack Pearse had to go through qualifying.

Unfortunately for the unheralded Philippine pair of Ronniel Rosales and Edwin Tolentino, they ran into the young Asia-Pacific star—ranked 64th worldwide—who breezed through the match, 21-8, 21-10 in 28 minutes.

The 5-foot-9 Gaviola and 5-foot-7 Polidario started strong and even held a slim lead early, but the six-footers from Australia, coming off a fifth-place finish in the Asian Seniors and seventh in the BPT Challenge Chennai, showed their might and experience in scoring the straight-sets win in the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation under its president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Gaviola said she was not too disappointed, noting that they followed the coaches’ gameplan.

“Although we have played several international tournaments, sometimes it’s evident that we still lack the experience but we need to overcome those things,” the 26-year-old Gaviola said.

“I believe we did fine because we followed the coaches’ instructions. There were lapses and we need to address those,” she added.

Action now shifts to the main draw, which features the Alas Pilipinas top women’s pair of Gen Eslapor and Kly Orillaneda, ranked 125th in the world with a fifth-place finish in the AVC Beach Tour Taoyuan Open and ninth-place finishes in the Asian Seniors and the BPT Futures Qingdao.

“This is a huge challenge, much more than our previous tournaments. The top-rated Europeans and Americans are here so we have to be at our best,” said Orillaneda.

Bannering the women’s competition are Paris Olympians — world No. 22 Alexia Richard and Lézana Placette world No. 31 Clémence Vieira and Aline Chamereau of France.

World No. 36 Maryna Hladun and Tetiana Lazarenko of Ukraine, winner of the BPT Challenge Chennai last week, are also competing along with Jana Milutinovic and Stefanie Fejes of Australia, champion in the BPT Futures Coolangatta in March and the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open in April and bronze medalists in the Asian Seniors three weeks ago.

In the men’s side, James Buytrago and Rancel Varga, silver medalists in the BPT Futures Nuvali in April, are back together as they face stiffer competition in the BPT Challenge event, a feeder to the BPT Elite 16.

Ran Abdilla, who played with Buytrago in the Asian Seniors where they fell just short of the knockout rounds, now sees action with Lerry John Francisco in the field headed by twins Joaquin and Javier Bello from England, world-ranked 17 coming off victory in the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Rio de Janeiro.

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.

One Filipino left standing in FIVB Manila Open play

At the conclusion of the Round-of-12 play at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open, there is just one Filipina team standing.

Sisi Rondina and Dzi Gervacio secured a quarterfinal berth with a 21-17 21-17 victory over the Canadian duo of Caleigh Cruickshank and Megan Nagy.

Gervacio was satisfied with her maiden partnership with Rondina, considering how short-notice it was in preparing for this tournament. She shares, "Ako, hindi ko talaga inii-expect na malayo ang mararating namin. Na aabot kami ng Day 2. Kasi, ako personally, I haven't trained internationally. And I know for a fact na matatangkad ang kalaban natin. But from the get-go, noong nakalaban namin ang USA, alam ko may pag-asa tayo."

In their win this morning as well as their 21-12 21-16 win over the American duo of Lindsay Fuller and Kaley Melville last Friday, the Pinays managed to compensate for their size disadvantage with some solid sand defense and smart play.

The other remaining Filipina squad in the Manila Open bowed out in heartbreaking fashion earlier this morning.

Lot Catubag and Karen Quilario kicked off Day 3 action at the Sands SM By the Bay, ending up on the short end of the stick against the Thai duo of Thatsarida Singchuea and Pawarun Chanthawichai, 36-34 23-25 15-17.

The duo from the PNP managed to secure a chance at a victory at least twice, once during the second set and twice in the third set, but the Asian U19 beach volleyball champions were up to the challenge and successfully pulled off the victory.

Quilario shared that they need "more teamwork and more practice" afterwards. She hopes that they are able to participate in future FIVB World Tour events to be able to net additional exposure.

Catubag adds, "Kung bibigyan kami ng pagkakataon, iga-grab namin ang opportunity na maglaro ng ganitong level. Maraming gustong maglaro pero bihira lang ang magbigyan ng pagkakataon sa ganitong competition."

Completing the Round of 12 matches in the FIVB World Tour Manila Open are the following results:

Lisa-Sophie Kotzan and Leonie Klinke (Germany) beat Katja Stam and Lisa Wouters (Netherlands), 21-11 21-19
Lindsay Fuller and Kaley Melville (United States) beat Janne Pedersen and Hanne Zylstra (Norway), 21-15 21-17
Javier and Alejandro Huerta (Spain) beat Martin Appelgren and Simon Boman (Sweden), 24-22 21-15
Felix Friedl and Maximillian Trummer (Austria) beat Jorg Wutzl and Simon Fruhbauer (Austria), 23-21 21-19
Petr Bakhnar and Taras Myskiv (Russia) beat Wang Chin-Ju and Hsieh Ya-Jen (Chinese-Taipei), 21-14 21-8
Marcus Ferguson and Tom Dickson (Australia) beat Kevin Lau Tsz Ho and Wong Pui Lam (Hong Kong), 21-15 21-15

Filipinas struggle in Manila Open

#DziSi loses, but still keeps hopes alive

Hopes for continued Filipino participation in the FIVB Beach Volleyball Manila Open are dimming, with the completion of pool play in the women's draw this afternoon at the Sands in SM By The Bay.

The duo of DM Demontano and Jackie Estoquia bowed to their German counterparts in Klinke Leonie and Lisa-Sophie Kotzan, 16-21 12-21, while Charo Soriano and Bea Tan exits after losing to the Canadian tandem of Megan Nagy and Caleigh Cruickshank, 12-21 15-21. Both suffered their second loss in as many matches.

Meanwhile, Cherry Rondina and Dzi Gervacio were unable to follow-up their victory earlier this morning, gallantly losing to the Spanish duo of Paula Soria and Maria Belen Carro, 20-22 21-23.

Saving the afternoon for the Philippines is Karen Quilario and Lot Catubag, as they beat the Hong Kong squad of Yuen Ting Chi and Au Yeung Wai Yan, 21-13 18-21 15-11. The win allows them to join Rondina and Gervacio into the Round of 12 set to take place tomorrow morning. A draw slated to take place after the completion of the matches tonight will determine the matchups, with the winner entering the quarterfinals later that day.

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.