Spain’s Alejandro Huerta and Adrian Gavira and Finland’s Anniina Parkkinen and Valma Prihti edged past tough competition to take gold medals at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge on Sunday, October 19, at Nuvali Sands Court by Ayala Land in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Huerta and Gavira battled crowd-favorite English twins Joaquin and Javier Bello in a tight three-set match, 21-17, 19-21, 17-15, while Parkkinen and Prihti overcame Lithuania’s Leva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite, 17-21, 21-14, 15-11, to claim their first Challenge titles.

Spain’s duo shines in decisive moments

“Adrian [Gavira] played outstanding defense, especially in the deciding set, and we kept the scores close throughout,” Huerta said. “We never gave up before the opportunity struck.”

Huerta contributed 29 successful attacks, including four blocks, against the Bello twins’ combined 34 attacks. “It was a great feeling to earn our first Challenge title as partners,” he added.

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Finland earns first Challenge crown

Parkkinen and Prihti combined for 35 points against Lithuania, with Prihti scoring 25, recording 16 attacks, five blocks, and four service aces. “Our opponent, Lithuania, is tough, but we never gave up and secured our first Challenge crown,” Parkkinen said.

Italy’s Manuel Alfieri and Alex Ranghieri and Australia’s Stefanie Fejes and Jasmine Fleming each took bronze in closely contested three-set matches. Alfieri and Ranghieri overcame Austria’s Christoph Dressler and Philip Waller, 17-21, 21-18, 15-12, while Fejes and Fleming rebounded from a slow start to defeat Czechia’s Kylie Neuschaeferova and Martina Maixnerova, 13-21, 21-15, 15-13.

The Bellos reached the final after a semifinal win over Alfieri and Ranghieri, 11-21, 21-19, 15-11, while Parkkinen and Prihti relied on strong blocking to overcome Czechia, 21-19, 18-21, 15-10, punching their ticket to the gold medal match.