Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons saw their campaign in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge come to a painful end after suffering a tough straight-set defeat against Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele on Thursday, May 21, at the Nuvali Sands Courts.

The Alas Pilipinas tandem bowed out of the tournament following a tightly contested 20-22, 22-24 loss that dropped the Filipinas to a 0-2 record in the modified pool play format. The result left the host pair at the bottom of Group H.

Rondina and Pons showed resilience throughout the match after recovering from a late collapse in the opening set to build momentum entering the second frame. The Filipinas raced to an early lead and eventually established a 19-16 advantage after Bentele committed a costly service error.

However, the Swiss pair responded under pressure with a decisive 4-0 run to snatch a slim 20-19 edge before surviving the extended battle to complete the hard-earned victory in the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.

Alas pair falls short

Niederhauser delivered a crucial point off the block before Bentele sealed the match with the finishing attack that officially booked Switzerland’s place in the Round of 24. The Swiss duo also eliminated Rondina and Pons during last year’s Nuvali Challenge.

Despite the loss, Rondina expressed pride in their performance after entering the tournament with limited preparation time. She noted that Pons only had around one and a half weeks to train together before facing elite international opponents.

Pons also acknowledged the high level of competition in the Challenge tournament and said competing against world-class beach volleyball teams provided valuable experience for the Alas Pilipinas duo.

Bentele led Switzerland with 13 points while Niederhauser contributed 12 markers in the victory. Rondina finished with 12 points for the Philippines while Pons was limited to six markers in their final match of the competition.

Earlier in the day, Rondina and Pons also absorbed a straight-set defeat against Denmark’s Sofia Bisgaard and Cirkeline Hog during their opening match in the tournament backed by Rebisco, Akari, Ayala Land, and PLDT.

Rosales, Abdilla withdraw

In the men’s division, Ronniel Rosales and Ranran Abdilla were forced to withdraw from their opening match against Americans Hagen Smith and Ryan Ierna after Rosales experienced a sudden spike in blood pressure early in the second set.

The match was halted with the Philippines trailing 2-3 in the second frame after previously dropping the opening set, leading to a withdrawal victory for Team USA. Rosales was immediately rushed for medical attention following the incident.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Australia’s Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood rallied from a set down to defeat Latvia’s Ardis Bedtridis and Arturs Renkivics in three sets during Pool G action.

Switzerland’s Adrian Heidrich and Yves Haussener also posted a straight-set victory over Great Britain’s Frederick Biakoloz and Issa Batrane in Pool H. Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri later survived a grueling three-set encounter against Germany’s Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel.