SANTA ROSA, Laguna — Alas Pilipinas stars Cherry Rondina and Bernadeth Pons bowed out of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge after pushing Swiss pair Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele to the limit in a hard-fought straight-set loss on Thursday at the Nuvali Sands Courts here.
The Filipina tandem absorbed a narrow 22-20, 24-22 defeat that sent the Swiss duo into the Round of 24 and closed the campaign of Rondina and Pons with a 0-2 record in Group H.
Rondina and Pons threatened to force a deciding set after building a 19-16 advantage in the second frame following a service error by Bentele. But the Swiss pair responded with four straight points before surviving the extended exchange to complete the sweep.
Niederhauser scored a crucial point off the block before Bentele finished the match with the winning attack.
“I’m proud of the result. It’s just nice because Pons only trained with me for one and a half weeks, but we were able to keep up with them,” said Rondina after the loss.
“The level of competition in the Challenge is really different. So I’m very grateful to compete against volleyball players from around the world,” Pons added.
Bentele finished with 13 points, while Niederhauser contributed 12 markers for Switzerland, which also eliminated the Filipina pair during last year’s Nuvali Challenge.
Rondina paced the Philippines with 12 points, while Pons added six in the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.
Earlier Thursday, Rondina and Pons also suffered a 21-19, 21-17 defeat to Denmark’s Sofia Bisgaard and Cirkeline Hog.
In the men’s division, Filipino duo Ronniel Rosales and Ranran Abdilla were forced to retire from their opening match against Americans Hagen Smith and Ryan Ierna after Rosales experienced a sudden spike in blood pressure during the second set.
The match was halted with the Philippines trailing 3-2 in the second frame after losing the opening set, 21-10. Team USA was awarded the victory following the withdrawal./PN
