Beach volleyball bets Khylem Progella and Grydelle Matibag gave the Philippines something to cheer about days before the 19th Asian Games formally opens.
The Filipina pair came back from a set down before outlasting Hong Kong’s Wing Tung To and Man Ching Wong, 17-21, 23-21, 15-13, in their Pool B preliminary clash on Tuesday at the Ningbo Banbianshan Beach Volleyball Centre Court 2.
The Pinays avenged the early setback suffered by the men’s tandem of Jaron Requinton and Ranran Abdilla as three Philippine teams saw action on the first day of the competition.
Progella and Matibag displayed nerves of steel and composure in the tight third set to pull off the come-from-behind win to cushion the stinging loss 21-13, 16-21, 8-15, meltdown by Requinton and Abdilla against Indonesians Danangsyah Yudistira Pribadi and Sofyan Rachman Efendi in men’s Pool B play.
Bannering the return of the country to Asiad beach volleyball wars for the first time since 2006 in Doha, Progella and Matibag struggled in form in the first set and had to slug it out with the Hong Kong squad in the extended second frame that lasted 20 minutes to force a decider.
The duo returns to the sands Wednesday to face Indonesians Dhita Juliana and Desi Ratsanari.
Meanwhile, Dij Rodriguez and Gene Eslapor are playing South Korea’s Seyeon Kim and Jieun Shin in Pool A at press time while James Buytrago and Jude Garcia will be making their debut Wednesday against China’s Mutailipu Abuduhalikejiang and Jiaxin Wu in men’s Pool A.
In men’s indoor play, The Philippines continues its quest to stay in the hunt for a spot in the next round when it faces Afghanistan in the group stage on Wednesday at the Deqing Sports Centre Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China.
Game time is set at 2:30 p.m. with the Filipinos marching into a crucial match a day before they face Asian powerhouse Japan for their final Pool F assignment.
The Nationals, who are making their return to the Asiad for the first time in 49 years, actually started their campaign last night in a showdown with Southeast Asian Games champion Indonesia.
