Sofiah Pagara (2) and Khylem Progella, newcomers to the national team, face the challenge head-on, displaying resilience in the face of an 18-21, 16-21 defeat against the formidable world No. 47 pair Zhu Lingdi and Shuting Cao of China.

MANILA — Filipino bets stood their ground against top-ranked opponents but still fell short down the wire in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge qualifiers on Thursday (30 Nov 2023) at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts in Santa Rosa City.

Anthony Arbasto and Alche Gupiteo duked it out against world No. 157 Yusuke Ishijima and Takumi Takahashi of Japan before running out of steam in the third set of the men’s qualification for a gritty 18-21, 21-19, 11-15 defeat.

The Philippine tandem held its own in the three close sets highlighted by a thrilling 21-19 win in the second frame of the biggest beach volleyball event ever hosted by the country behind the leadership of Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Two more Filipino duos fell in the opener of the elite four-day tournament organized by the Volleyball World, which also holds the prominent Volleyball Nations League, but not without a fight under the scorching heat.

National team first-timers Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella did not shy away from the challenge despite an 18-21, 16-21 defeat against world No. 47 Zhu Lingdi and Shuting Cao of China, in the women’s qualification.

The veteran pair of James Buytrago and Rancel Varga also succumbed to world No. 85 Issa Batrane and Frederick Bialokoz of England, 11-21, 12-21, in the men’s division.

The Philippines though is still in play with Jen Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez in women’s as well as Ran Abdilla and Jaron Requinton in men’s already through to the 24-team main draw of the world tiff supported by gold sponsors Ayala Land, Mikasa, Senoh, Philippine Sports Commission, Pinay In Action and Smart as gold sponsors and PLDT, Gatorade, Maynilad, Rebisco, Ayala Malls, Department of Tourism, CBPI, Club Laiya, Foton as bronze sponsors.

Brazilian Jao Luciano Kiodai mentors the Filipino spikers in their battle against the sand giants, composed of top-ranked players, Olympians, and world champions from over 30 countries. 

Only sixteen teams in each gender are in the main draw so far with eight more teams booking their spots from the ongoing qualifications as of press time to complete the 24-squad cast slugging it out for the Nuvali crown.

The Nuvali leg of the BPT is the last stop before the finals on Dec. 6 to 9 in Doha, Qatar after trips in Mexico, Brazil, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Portugal, France, India, China, and Thailand.

It also serves as a gigantic stage for countries to earn much-needed points to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The PNVF hosting of the BPT comes on the heels of the country’s championship in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures courtesy of Jovelyn Gonzaga and Sisi Rondina last year as well as a commendable fifth-place finish by Eslapor and Rodriguez this year in the Asian Games beach volleyball in Hangzhou, China.

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Foreign teams take their turn to train at the Nuvali Sand Courts on Wednesday

MANILA — Forty-eight qualification matches scheduled over 10 hours usher in Thursday as the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Challenge Philippine leg at Nuvali gets underway.

The PH stop of the tour is quiet literally bursting at the seams with the host Philippine National Volleyball League (PNVF) needing at least five hotels in and out of Santa Rosa City to billet athletes and officials.

“It’s the biggest beach volleyball competition the country has ever hosted,” PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara said on Wednesday.

“It’s the biggest and most prestigious with Olympic and world champions and top-ranked athletes converging in Nuvali.”

There are 16 teams each in the men’s and women’s main draw and the qualifiers alone, according to Suzara, have 32 teams for each gender representing more than 30 countries.

Dozens of other teams in both genders are also in town as reserves in the tournament supported by gold sponsors Ayala Land, Mikasa, Senoh, Philippine Sports Commission, Pinay In Action and Smart as gold sponsors and PLDT, Gatorade, Maynilad, Rebisco, Ayala Malls, Department of Tourism, CBPI, Club Laiya, Foton as bronze sponsors.

Nuvali, through Ayala Land, built four world-class and FIVB-standard sand courts and one practice court on a sprawling area fronting Landers.

Hotels within the Nuvali area have overflowed and the PNVF had to book participants in hotels in Silang, Alabang, and Batangas.

The qualification matches on Thursday start simultaneously in all four newly-built courts at 8 p.m. with the last matches set for 6 p.m.

The main draw proceeds Friday with simultaneous matches serving at 9 a.m. with the day’s competitions ending with 9 p.m. matches.

Teams have tested the courts in training since last Tuesday, including the Philippine squads coached by Brazilian Jao Luciano Kiodai.

“We’re going to expect the best of the best here,” Kiodai said. “But the most important here is to introduce to the Philippines the high level of beach volleyball.

“It’s going to be hard, but the process is much more important than the results we are going to have,” said Kiodai, who’s been handling the national squads for a year now.

Jovelyn Gonzaga and Sisi Rondina won the gold medal last year in Subic but the duo already reverted to indoor volleyball, handing the mantle to veterans Jen Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez and national team first-timers Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella.

Kiodai set potent expectations for the nationals.

“We already showed in the last Asian Games that we can play in the world and play the best we can,” he said, referring to last year’s Future finalist Eslapor and Rodriguez, who posted a Philippine-best fifth-place finish in Asiad beach volleyball in Hangzhou.

The Philippine men’s teams are made up of Ran Abdilla and Jeron Requinton, Anthony Arbasto, and Alche Gupiteo, and the veteran pair of James Buytrago and Rancel Varga.

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Olympian Miki Ishi and partner Akiko Hasegawa of Japan test the Nuvali Sand Courts.

OLYMPIC and world champions and top-ranked athletes take center stage in the Philippine leg of the prestigious Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour (BPT) Challenge that starts with the qualifiers on Thursday on five world-class sand courts in Nuvali in Santa Rosa City.

Reigning champions Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway banner the cast in the loaded men’s division of the four-day competition that drew representatives from over 30 countries.

Mol and Sorum, gold medalists at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and FIVB 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships won the inaugural BPT Challenge season last year in Doha, Qatar.

That should be enough for the Norwegians to loom as the heavy title favorites in men’s play of the competitions hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation led by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Tickets are available at vw.ticketmax.ph pegged at P100 for morning sessions and P200 for afternoon sessions.

Tickets will also be available onsite starting Thursday.

The Mol-Sorum tandem will face a bevy of challengers led by top-ranked players from Sweden, the Czech Republic, the United States, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Poland, and the Netherlands—all in the top 10 of the latest world beach volleyball rankings.

Mol and Sorum are already seeded in the 16-team main draw that also includes home bets Ran Abdilla and Jaron Requinton with eight more teams coming from the qualifications featuring 32 hopefuls.

James Buytrago and Rancel Varga as well as Anthony Arbasto and Alche Gupiteo will carry the flag in the qualifiers of the tournament that caps the PNVF’s busy 2023 calendar and supported by gold sponsors Ayala Land, Mikasa, Senoh, Philippine Sports Commission, Pinay In Action and Smart as gold sponsors and PLDT, Gatorade, Maynilad, Rebisco, Ayala Malls, Department of Tourism, CBPI, Club Laiya, Foton as bronze sponsors.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng of the United States as well as top-ranked and world champions Eduarda Santos Lisboa (Duda) and Ana Patricia Ramos of Brazil are out of the cast this time but the women’s bets are still not lacking in stars.

World No. 7 Barbara Seixas and Carol Solberg of Brazil with world No. 9 Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia of China spearhead the main draw of the women’s team with hopes of capturing their own moments this time.

Also in the 16-team main draw are Filipina spikers Jen Eslapor and Floremel Rodriguez while Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella will vie in the 32-team qualifiers, where eight more teams will advance.

Japanese Olympian Miki Ishi and partner Akiko Hasegawa, who’ll turn 38 Thursday, have already tested the five-court Nuvali Sand Courts.

Stalwarts from Australia, Switzerland, France, England, Portugal, China, Chile, Austria, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, Oman, Thailand, Latvia, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, Spain, Turkey, Gambia, Morocco, Malaysia, Finland, Slovenia, Ukraine and Slovakia are also in the fray.

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