Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons completed a dominant Day 1 sweep at the Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali, while all four Alas Pilipinas men's pairs suffered losses in their opening matches.
Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons made a thunderous return to the sand as they capped off Day 1 of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali with a pair of convincing victories on Friday, May 2, at the Nuvali Sand Courts in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The veteran duo of Rondina and Pons, representing Alas Pilipinas, swept USA’s Melissa Powell and Lindsay Calvin, 21-15, 21-14, after edging fellow Filipinas Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara in a three-set thriller earlier in the day.
It’s a flawless start for the champion duo as they look to replicate a deep run similar to their bronze finish in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and gold in the 2022 BPT Subic leg.
'SiPons' currently sit atop Pool A with a 2-0 record and four points heading into Day 2 of the tournament.
[ALSO READ: Sisi Rondina, Bernadeth Pons off to winning start in Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali]
However, it was a tough outing for the Alas Pilipinas men’s beach volleyball teams, as all four tandems fell to international opponents in straight or hard-fought sets.
James Buytrago and Rancel Varga pushed Israel’s Tamir Hershko and River Day to a close first set but ultimately lost, 21-23, 12-21, in Pool D.
Lerry John Francisco and Edwin Tolentino dropped their Pool C match to Czechia’s Tomas Semerad and Adam Miroslav Stocek, 13-21, 9-21.
Jude Garcia and Jaron Requinton, silver medalists in last year’s BPT Nuvali, fell short against Germany’s Momme Lorenz and Tilo Rietschel, 19-21, 14-21, in Pool A.
Ronniel Rosales and Alex Iraya couldn’t find their rhythm against Israel's Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, bowing 11-21, 14-21, in their Pool B opener.
The Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali features pairs from over 19 countries and serves as a crucial tune-up for national athletes ahead of the Southeast Asian Games later this year.