Sisi Rondina (left) dives to keep the ball in play as teammate Bernadeth Pons looks on during their quarterfinal match in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali in Santa Rosa City, Laguna on Saturday (May 3, 2025). They lost to Beata Vaida and Francesca Ioana Alupei of Romania, 21-18, 19-21, 12-15. (Contributed photo)
Alas Pilipinas duo Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons gave everything they had on the sand but ultimately bowed out of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures in Nuvali, falling in a heartbreaker to Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Ioana Alupei, 21-18, 19-21, 12-15, Saturday in Santa Rosa City, Laguna.
Back in beach volleyball after a two-year focus on the indoor scene, Rondina and Pons showed flashes of brilliance and undeniable chemistry. Despite the tough loss, their performance turned heads and rekindled excitement around their return.
“I’m proud of our performance here,” Pons said after the match. “Our preparation was short, but we gave it everything. We just came up a little short in the end.”
Pons also noted the small moments that made the difference. “I was aiming for just one kill block—it would’ve been massive in a match this close. Still, this is a strong starting point. We’ll be better next time.”
Rondina, ever the fighter, remains optimistic and driven. “I’m grateful for this opportunity and the incredible support we felt. The energy from the crowd was amazing,” she said. “It hurts to end it this early, but we’re going to keep pushing. The SEA Games in Thailand this December is our big goal.”
Elsewhere in the tournament, Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara also saw their run end in the quarterfinals at the hands of New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia MacDonald—the same pair who recently won silver at the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali Open. The Kiwi duo proved too strong, winning 21-17, 21-14.
Progella and Pagara had previously scored impressive victories over Danieke Prins and Annemieke Driessen of the Netherlands, and over Vanuatu’s 2023 Australian Tour champions, Sherysyn Toko and Majabelle Lawac.
On the men’s side, local hopes James Buytrago and Rancel Varga, silver medalists last year, couldn’t replicate their magic, falling in the quarters to Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, 21-17, 21-15. The Filipino tandem had earlier delivered back-to-back straight-set wins over Australia’s Finley Bennett and Jed Walker, and Hungary’s Domonkos Doczi and Bence Attila Streli.
Despite the setbacks, Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon Suzara remains upbeat.
“Sisi and Bernadeth played very well—the chemistry is still there,” said Suzara, who also heads the Asian Volleyball Confederation. “Reaching the quarterfinals in a tough field like this is already a strong statement.”
Suzara added that the PNVF is eyeing enough ranking points for a possible wild card slot at the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Adelaide, Australia this November.
As the tournament winds down, Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame earned a spot in the women’s final after outlasting Lithuania’s Ieva Dumbauskaite and Gerda Grudzinskaite in a nail-biting 21-17, 15-21, 15-13 battle. They will face the red-hot Kiwi pair Polley and MacDonald, who defeated the Romanians Vaida and Alupei in straight sets, 21-10, 21-19.
In the men’s bracket, Israel’s Elazar and Cuzmiciov booked a finals ticket with a commanding 22-20, 21-11 win over Greece’s Stavros Ntallas and Dimitris Chatzinikolaou. They will square off against Slovakia’s Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf, who toppled Latvia’s Oskars Bulgacs and Matiss Graudins, 25-23, 21-10.