Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons triumphed in a thrilling women’s Final of the PNVF Beach Volleyball National Open, rallying from a set down to edge Alas Pilipinas teammates Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez, 17-21, 21-16, 16-14. The duo completed a 5-0 sweep of the one-day tournament held Saturday at Nuvali Sand Courts in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Rondina-Pons Duo Shines in Comeback
After cruising through the first four matches without dropping a set, Rondina and Pons were tested in the title match by first-time partners Villapando and Rodriguez. The experienced pair responded with urgency and clutch plays in the final two sets to seal the championship and reaffirm their return to top-level beach volleyball form.

They earlier dominated NU Nazareth’s Faith Mangyao and Liezl Dejan, UP’s Euri Eslapor and Kassie Doering, fellow Alas teammates Jenny Gaviola and Alexa Polidario in the quarters, and Sofiah Pagara and Khy Progella in the semis. Pagara and Progella, representing UST, claimed bronze with a 21-16, 22-20 win over Quijote and Cordero of NU.

Buytrago and Garcia Clinch Men’s Title
On the men’s side, James Buytrago and Jude Garcia emerged champions after Ronniel Rosales and Rancel Varga conceded due to cramps. Buytrago and Garcia had won the first set 21-14 and were up 9-5 in the second when Rosales went down, leading to a forfeiture and a 5-0 finish for the newly formed duo.

Their journey to the top included wins over UP’s Christian Pitogo and Angelo Lipata, Intra Asian Volleyballista’s Krung Arbasto and Dominique Gabito, Saint Benilde’s Mark Jun Garcia and Alvin Sulayman, and Alas teammates Ranran Abdilla and Edwin Tolentino in the semis. Abdilla and Tolentino secured third place after Rosales and Varga’s withdrawal.

A total of 27 teams—12 women’s and 15 men’s—participated in the event, organized by Beach Volleyball Republic. The competition followed a successful Sandroots Nuvali workshop on Friday, which saw over 60 participants train with national coaches and players as part of the grassroots development program.