ALAS PILIPINAS stood its ground against China in a war of attrition, 22-20, 22-20, in the Rebisco Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Beach Tour Nuvali Open to reach the quarterfinals on Friday in the City of Santa Rosa in Laguna.
Khylem Progella and Sofia Pagara overcame tense moments against China’s top pair of Yan Xu and Zhou Mingli to secure a place in the round-of-eight at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land.
In an error-plagued endgame where they wasted match points with four consecutive service errors, Progella and Pagara managed to pull off impressive plays to regain control and eventually put away the top Chinese pair.
“We had trouble finding the mark on serve when trying to close them out. No excuses, but the heat was too much,” Progella said.
The young spikers from the University of Santo Tomas showed poise against Yan and Zhou, who have the fourth-highest rating in this field, registering three block points against none by their rivals.
Progella and Pagara led by as many as four points in the first set and had to rally from four down in the second.
“They can become a little emotional during these tough situations, but they come through,” said Alas Pilipinas’s Brazilian beach volleyball coach Joao Luciano Kiodai.
“I think we are still chasing our best, and I think this is good; we need it for future matches. And this is important, that we can win even when we didn’t play our best,” Kiodai said.
Progella and Pagara take on Australia’s Elizabeth Alchin and Georgia Johnson, the second-highest ranked team in the tournament, for a place in the semifinals.
Alchin and Johnson beat Thailand’s Samitta Simarongnam and Salinda Mungkhon, 19-21, 21-13, 15-10.
Alas Pilipinas’ top pair in men’s play had a foot in the next round when James Buytrago and Rancel Varga seized the opening set and held the upper hand midway through the second against New Zealand’s John McManaway and James Sadlier.
The Filipinos faded in scorching heat, however, and wound up forfeiting the match as Buytrago could not continue due to cramps, with the score at 33-35, 18-21, 6-13.
Two Alas Pilipinas women’s pairs also bowed out at the Round of 16 stage, with Alexa Polidario of the Air Force and Lorien Gamboa of the University of Santo Tomas dispatched by Japan’s Saki Maruyama and Miki Ishii, 21-12, 21-10.
