MANILA — Shaunna Polley and Olivia Macdonald of New Zealand continued their winning streak, securing their second title in as many weeks by defeating Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame, 21-18, 21-14, in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures Nuvali final on Sunday in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
After winning the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Beach Tour Phu Yen Open in Vietnam just the week before, the Kiwis extended their impressive run, claiming back-to-back victories following two silver medals, including a second-place finish in the AVC Beach Tour Nuvali last month.
“Happy to come back here and get the gold,” Polley said. “We’re really glad to have been playing consistently, and to finish with two gold medals in the last two weeks is awesome.”
In the men’s final, Slovakia’s Lubos Nemec and Adrian Petruf emerged victorious in a thrilling match, edging out Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov, 21-15, 18-21, 19-17.
Elazar and Cuzmiciov had previously defeated the Philippines’ James Buytrago and Rancel Varga in the quarterfinals of the tournament, which was organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation under the leadership of Ramon “Tats” Suzara, who also serves as the president of the Asian Volleyball Confederation and Executive Vice President of the FIVB.
Polley and Macdonald expressed that competing in FIVB World tournaments like the BPT Futures Nuvali, featuring teams from 19 countries, presented a unique challenge. They were thrilled to come out on top in such a competitive field.
ia/mnm
