THE Philippines’ Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons made quick work of Japan’s Shinako Tanaka and Miyuki Matsumura, 21-14, 21-8, to barge into the Round of 12 in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Boracay Open presented by Globe.
A few days removed after completing her indoor volleyball stint for the University of Santo Tomas, Rondina quickly adjusted in the sand court to help Pons score their first win in the main draw in front of a lustily cheering crowd that filled the venue.
“I actually had only two days of training. But before entering training, my mindset was already focused on beach volleyball,”said Rondina, a four-time UAAP beach volleyball champion for University of Santo Tomas. “I think it’s all about muscle memory and then I also watched on YouTube the previous games with Pons; I checked how we moved.”
Rondina faced the 43-year old Tanaka for the second straight Beach World Tour. In the Manila Open last year, Rondina, together with her former partner Dzi Gervacio, were eliminated by Tanaka and Fujii Sakurako for a spot in the semifinals last year in the match that went into three sets.
“I really wanted to win last year,” said Rondina. “Now, we’re blessed that we won for the first time. Of course, it’s Japan and we know Japan is a difficult opponent. We were able to adjust well and I think that’s why we won.”
After feeling their way early in the match, Rondina and Pons were able to figure out the Japanese weaknesses.
“They weren’t able to block well so that’s why we decided to attack,” said Pons.
“It was actually hard. The sand is deep but we were able to adjust and move well. We really pushed each other to move,” said Rondina.
Up next for Rondina and Pons is another Japanese pair, Satono Ishitsubo and Asami Shiba, at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, needing another victory to make it to the quarterfinals outright. (PR)