MANILA, Philippines — Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons of the Philippines ended their campaign in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge after falling short against Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele, 20-22, 22-24, on Thursday night at the Nuvali Sands Courts in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Alas Pilipinas finished the pool play with a 0-2 record and dropped at the bottom of Group H.
Still, Rondina found a silver lining to the setback.
“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,” Rondina said.
After a late comeback attempt fell short in the first set, the Philippines carried that momentum into the second set, racing to an early lead and building a 19-16 advantage following a crucial service error by Bentele.
However, Bentele and Niederhauser responded with a 4-0 run to snatch a 20-19 lead, ultimately surviving the extension to secure the hard-earned victory.
“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 said.
Bentele fired 13 points for the Switzerland team, which also booted out the Philippine team in last year’s Nuvali Challenge as Niederhauser added 12 points.
Rondina, meanwhile, scored 12 points as Pons was limited to just six points.
Rondina and Pons opened their campaign with a 19-21, 17-21 loss to Denmark’s Sofia Bisgaard and Cirkeline Hog in the Challenge Tour on Thursday morning.
The 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games beach volleyball gold medalist tried to bounce back in the second match against the Swiss to remain in contention but failed.