Shaunna Polley Olivia Macdonald beach volleyball dominance continued in the Philippines as the New Zealand duo bagged the gold at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali with a solid 21-18, 21-14 win over Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame on Sunday in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Fresh off their championship run at the AVC Beach Tour Phu Yen Open in Vietnam, Polley and Macdonald delivered another strong performance in Nuvali, capping two straight weekends with back-to-back titles after finishing runner-up twice in previous tournaments, including last month’s AVC Beach Tour Nuvali.

“Happy to come back here and get the gold,” said Polley. “We’ve been playing consistently and to finish with two golds in two weeks is awesome.”

The Shaunna Polley Olivia Macdonald beach volleyball tandem was tested by Ito and Sawame’s strong defense, but their chemistry and precision proved too much for the Japanese finalists.

In the men’s division, Slovakia’s Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf emerged victorious in a thrilling final, outlasting Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, 21-15, 18-21, 19-17. Elazar and Cuzmiciov had earlier eliminated the Philippines’ James Buytrago and Rancel Varga in the quarterfinals.

The tournament was organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation led by Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who also serves as AVC President and Executive VP of the FIVB.

Polley noted that events like the Beach Pro Tour Nuvali, which featured competitors from 19 countries, provide high-level challenges. “The level is really high. You never know what to expect, and we definitely met some tough teams,” she said.

Macdonald praised the Japanese squad: “Their defense and serves are amazing. They play such a different style—it’s always fun competing against them.”

In the women’s bronze medal match, Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite edged Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Alupei in a three-set thriller, 21-19, 19-21, 19-17. Vaida and Alupei had previously knocked out the Philippines’ Kat Epa and Honey Grace Cordero and later Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons.

The men’s bronze medal went to Latvia’s Oskars Bulgacs and Matiss Graudins, who overcame Greece’s Stavros Ntallas and Dimitris Chatzinikolaou, 21-15, 19-21, 15-5.