Photo Courtesy: Gonzaga’s Instagram post
The men's and women's Philippine national beach volleyball teams successfully hauled a two-gold, one silver, and two bronze medals in the 2022 Australian Beach Volleyball Tour Championship on March 27.
The national squads' completion of a perfect run on this event takes place at the Coolangatta Beach in Brisbane, Australia.
Sand ace Jovelyn Gonzaga's debut partnership with Dij Rodriguez pays off after a coming-from-behind 18-21, 21-19, 15-13 triumph in the Women's Challenger Division I finals over local favorites Alice Ziemann and Anna Donlan.
Gonzaga and Rodriguez had previously gone unbeaten in five matches during the three-day "Australia's top-tier domestic beach volleyball league."
On the other hand, Ranran Abdilla and Jaron Requinton also bagged a gold medal with a 22-20, 21-17 victory over Issa Batrane and Frederick Bialokoz of the United Kingdom in the Men's Challenger Division I finals.
Meanwhile, Sisi Rondina and Bernadette Pons settled for silver in the Womens' Elite group finals after losing 18-21, 12-21 against locals Nikki Laird and Phoebe Bell.
Nene Bautista and Gen Eslapor, who, like Gonzaga and Rodriguez, are paired for the first time, still secured bronze in the Women's Challenger Division I after beating Saskia De Haan and Lisa-Marie Moegle, with a finishing score of 21-13, 21-19.
Premie Bagalay and James Buytrago also won bronze in the Men's Challenger Division, topping Thomas Heptinstall and Jed Walker by 21-17 and 21-12.
Moreover, the last remaining duo, Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto, just advanced to the Men's Challenger Division I quarterfinals.
At a virtual send-off press conference for them, Philippine National Volleyball Federation President Ramon Suzara already mentioned that participating in this tournament is part of their one-month build-up foreign training program for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games from May 12 to 23 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
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