SiPons, other beach volley pairs fall short in gritty Nuvali Challenge battles

Philippine beach volleyball pairs, led by Alas Pilipinas mainstays Sisi Rondina and Bernadette Pons delivered spirited performances but ultimately bowed out of contention in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge at the Nuvali Sands Court, Oct. 19.

Sis Rondina and Bernadette Pons’ duo, fondly called ‘SiPons,’ came close to advancing to the round of 16 but fell short to Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele, 18-21, 24-22, 15-12, in a grueling round of 24 match. 

The Alas Pilipinas aces looked poised for a win after forcing an extended second set where the Swiss faltered with errors, but Niederhauser and Bentele recovered their rhythm in the deciding frame to seal the match. 

Despite the loss, Rondina and Pons made history by notching the Philippines’ first-ever win in a Challenge-level Beach Pro Tour match, stunning Slovenia’s Ziva Javornik and Tajda Lovsin, 21-19, 21-9. 

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ other women’s pairs also saw their campaigns end in the same round. Kly Orillaneda and Gen Eslapor yielded to USA’s Teegan Van Gunst and Piper Ferch, 21-19, 21-11. 

Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez squandered a second-set lead to bow to Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame, 21-18, 27-25.

Up next, SiPons and other Alas Pilipinas pairs are expected to regroup for the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand this December, where the Philippines will field two teams per gender division. 

The country aims to improve on its bronze-medal finishes in 2019 and 2022.