STA. ROSA, Laguna – Filipino beach volleyball players Sofiah Pagara and Khylem Progella came up short in their bid to reach the main draw of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge after losing to Hungary’s Stefania Kun and Lilla Villam, 19-21, 18-21, at the Nuvali Sands Courts on Wednesday evening.
Despite a spirited comeback in the second set where they erased a 12-16 gap to tie the score at 16-all, the Philippine pair could not sustain the momentum. The Hungarian team responded with a strong finish, building a 19-16 cushion before closing out the match.
Pagara, who delivered 19 points, admitted they gained valuable lessons from the encounter.
“We learned a lot from playing against experienced international opponents. Even though we didn’t win, we showed what we can do,” she said.
The Filipino duo had earlier secured their spot in the final qualifying round after edging Germany’s Mareet Maidhof and Tabea Schwarz, 21-19, 28-26.
Villam led Hungary with 14 points while Kun added 10 in the victory.
Other teams advancing to the women’s main draw included pairs from the Netherlands, China, Brazil, Denmark, Canada, and Lithuania.
In other results, Filipino men’s teams also bowed out early as Alex Iraya and Alihfaisal Gampong lost to Australia’s Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker, 7-21, 13-21, while Edwin Tolentino and Lerry Francisco were defeated by Brazil’s Gabriel Santiago and Johann Dohmann, 12-21, 11-21.
