Alas Pilipinas stood tall in the face of adversity and intense heat, edging out China’s top pair in a war of attrition, 22-20, 22-20, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open on Friday, April 4, at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara, both young standouts from the University of Santo Tomas, delivered a composed and gritty performance against the experienced Chinese tandem of Yan Xu and Zhou Mingli. Despite suffering four straight service errors at match point in a nerve-wracking endgame, the Filipinas recovered with clutch plays on both offense and defense to close out the straight-sets win.
“We had trouble finding the mark on serve when trying to close them out. No excuses but the heat was too much,” admitted Progella, who tallied three of Alas Pilipinas’ block points in the match.
Progella and Pagara led by as much as four in the opening set and clawed back from a four-point hole in the second. Their resilience impressed Brazilian coach Joao Luciano Kiodai, who praised the duo’s growth under pressure.
“They can become a little emotional during these tough situations, but they come through,” Kiodai said. “We are still chasing our best, and I think this is good. We need it for future matches.”
The duo now face a tough quarterfinal matchup against Australia’s Elizabeth Alchin and Georgia Johnson, the second-highest ranked team in the competition. The Aussies advanced with a 19-21, 21-13, 15-10 win over Thailand’s Samitta Simarongnam and Salinda Mungkhon.
In men’s play, Alas Pilipinas’ top pair James Buytrago and Rancel Varga were forced to forfeit their Round of 16 match against New Zealand’s John McManaway and James Sadlier after Buytrago succumbed to cramps with the match score at 33-35, 18-21, 6-13.
“It’s super hot, for any athlete it would be hard to handle that heat. You feel tired and you feel the pain more. Then the cramps happen, but it is what it is. That’s beach volleyball,” Kiodai said.
Meanwhile, two other Alas Pilipinas women’s teams bowed out in the Round of 16. Air Force’s Alexa Polidario and UST’s Lorien Gamboa lost to Japan’s Saki Maruyama and Miki Ishii, 21-12, 21-10. In her first outing with the national team, former Stanford and USC NCAA standout Sunnie Kalani Villapando, paired with Jenny Gaviola of the Coast Guard, fell to Japan’s Asami Shiba and Reika Murakami, 6-21, 15-21.
“This won’t be the last,” said Villapando. “We’ll be training and competing. We’re looking forward to the Southeast Asian Games.”
With Progella and Pagara carrying the national colors into the quarterfinals, the country remains hopeful for a podium finish at home in this prestigious continental tournament.
