It was a brave stand for a pair of Philippine teams in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open Saturday at SM Sands by the Bay.
Cherry Rondina and Dzi Gervacio came through with a gutsy run to the quarterfinals but were stopped in their tracks by Japan’s Shinako Tanaka and Sakurako Fujii, 21-13, 17-21, 15-11, in a tense duel that showed the potential of the Filipino pair.
Rondina and Gervacio, both first-timers in the FIVB World Tour, refused to surrender against the former top pair of Japan, which milked every drop of talent and experience to subdue the Filipinos.
“We played against a top seed team and we were able to stretch them to three sets,” said Gervacio.
“We’re happy and proud that in whatever way we were able to match up with them it’s just that we fell short in the end,” added Rondina in Filipino.
Earlier in the round of 12, the Philippines’ other bet, Lot Catubag and Karen Quilario of PNP, dropped a heartbreaking 36-34, 23-25, 15-17 loss to Thailand’s Thatsarida Singchuea and Pawarun Chanthawichai.
Catubag and Quilario came so close to advancing, moving to match point in the second frame and twice in the deciding set, but the pair from Tagum just could not close out the young Thais, who are the reigning Asian U19 beach volleyball champions.
“More teamwork and more practice,” said Quilario. “We want to play more of these tournaments to gain more exposure and experience.”