SANTA ROSA, Laguna — Alas Pilipinas men’s team had its Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge campaign cut short after withdrawing due to health reasons on Friday, May 22.
Roniel Rosales had a sudden spike in his blood pressure the day before, and as a precaution, he and his partner, Ranran Abdilla, decided to pull out from the prestigious competition being held at the Nuvali Sands Courts here.
“You could really see that my partner’s body hadn’t fully recovered. He’s feeling a bit better now, but he’s still not in good condition to play. He recovered a little from yesterday, but not enough. His head still hurts,” Abdilla said.
“I told him that our game is at 10:30 under extreme heat. Maybe he can still play, but the big question is whether he can actually finish the match.”
With Abdilla and Rosales out, England’s Frederick Bialokoz and Issa Batrane took a walkover win, 21-0, 21-0, to advance to the next round of the Nuvali Challenge, organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) under the leadership of chairman Patrick Gregorio.
Rosales received medical attention early in the second set of their opening day match against Americans Hagen Smith and Ryan Ierna.
Rosales couldn’t continue due to his condition as the host pair yielded the match, 21-10, 3-2.
“We already talked about it, and of course, this wasn’t something we wanted to happen. Situations like this really happen sometimes. Actually, I experienced something similar last year too. So I think it’s really about acceptance and learning from it,” said Abdilla.
“We realized that we really need to take care of our health better. Proper nutrition and care of the body should always be the number one priority. That’s now part of our preparation moving forward.”
Abdilla is crossing his fingers that Alas men’s beach volleyball would be able to compete in the Asian Games and also eyes more international games in China and Chinese Taipei under the support of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.
The withdrawal officially sealed the Philippines’ exit in the tournament following the pool play elimination of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons in the women’s division on Thursday.
In Pool B, Chase Budinger and Trevor Crabb of Team USA completed a two-game sweep with a 21-19, 21-11 triumph over Brazil’s Henrique de Barros and Mateus Rodriges in the four-day beach volleyball tilt supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Rebisco, Akari, Ayala Land, and PLDT.
Austria’s Julian Horl and Laurenc Grossig eliminated Luke de Greeff and Tynan Gannett of Canada, 21-13, 21-15, in Pool B.
Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov also bagged their second win in Pool A with a 21-15, 21-15 win over Lithuania’s Arnas Rumsevicius and Karolis Palubinskas. Denmark’s Jacob Brinck and Nicolai Houmann beat their comrades Kristoffer Abell and Christian Andersen, 21-16, 21-19.
Germany’s Phillip Huster and Sven Winter topped Pool C capped by a 21-17, 21-19 win over Australia’s Joshua Howat and Luke Ryan in the Challenge hosted by the City of Santa Rosa and backed by Medical City South Luzon and Jersey Haven.
Paul Pascaruic and Alexander Horst of Austria also had a two-game sweep of Pool D after turning down Piotr Kantor and Filip Lejawa of Poland, 21-18, 21-19, while Julian Friedli and Jonathan Jordan of Sweden emerged as No.1 in Pool E with a 21-14, 21-19 sweep of Ukraine’s Anton Moiseiev and Vitalii Savvin.
Germany’s Maximilian Just and Lui Wust completed a perfect Pool F stint after surviving their comrades Jonas and Benedikt Sagstetter in three sets, 16-21, 21-10, 15-10. Australia’s Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood were unstoppable in Pool G with their second win, turning back Italy’s Alex Ranghieri and Manuel Alfieri, 21-17, 21-15.
Switzerland’s Adrian Heidrich and Yves Haussener swept Pool H with a 21-14, 21-12 win over Ierna and Smith.
