Alas Pilipinas’ Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella mounted a gallant stand but came up short, falling to Hungary’s Lilla Villam and Stefania Kun, 21-19, 21-18, in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge on Wednesday night at the Nuvali Sands Courts.

Standing as the lone Filipino pair to reach the second round of the qualification tournament, Pagara and Progella showed they belonged as they pushed the Hungarian duo to the limit and remained competitive from start to finish. The Filipinas matched their opponents in long rallies and defensive exchanges but could not sustain their push in the closing stretches of both sets.

Trailing 12-16 in the second set, Pagara sparked a spirited comeback for Alas Pilipinas, delivering two aces and two well-placed attacks in a 4-0 run that forced a 16-all deadlock. The surge briefly shifted momentum in favor of the Filipino pair as the home crowd responded to the rally.

Hungary closes strong

Kun and Villam, winners of last year’s Balıkesir Futures, relied on experience in the final stretch to regain control of the match. They produced a 3-0 run to break away at 19-16 before holding off a late challenge from Pagara to secure the victory and advance to the main draw.

Pagara, who finished with 19 points, said the match was a valuable learning experience against seasoned international opponents. She noted that the team focused on giving their best performance despite the result, emphasizing growth from high-level competition.

Pagara and Progella earlier survived Germany’s Mareet Maidhof and Tabea Schwarz, 21-19, 28-26, to advance in qualifying. They also controlled most of the opening set against Hungary before Villam and Kun closed with a 3-1 run after an 18-all deadlock to take the first frame.

Villam led Hungary with 14 points while Kun added 10 markers in the win.

Philippine campaign continues

Wies Bekhuis and Desy Poiesz, Nigella Negenman and Floor Hogenhout of the Netherlands, Kaiyue Jiang and Jie Dong of China, Andressa Ramalho and Taina Bigi of Brazil, Sofia Bisgaard and Cirkeline Høg of Denmark, Marie-Alex Bélanger and Amy Ozee of Canada, and Daniele Kvedaraite and Jekaterina Saule of Lithuania completed the women’s main draw of the tournament hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation under Anthony “Tonyboy” Liao.

On the men’s side, the Philippines struggled in qualification as both pairs exited in straight sets. Alex Iraya and Alihfaisal Gampong fell to Australia’s Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker, 21-7, 21-13, while Edwin Tolentino and Lerry Francisco were defeated by Brazil’s Gabriel Santiago and Johann Dohmann, 21-12, 21-11.

The Philippines still has main draw representatives, with Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons leading the women’s campaign and Ranran Abdilla and Ronniel Rosales carrying the men’s hopes in the tournament.