SANTA ROSA, Laguna — Alas Pilipinas’ Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons fell short in their debut match after suffering a 19-21, 17-21, loss to a much taller and more experienced Danish duo of Sofia Bisgaard and Cirkeline Hog in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge on Thursday at the Nuvali Sands Courts here.

The Filipinas took control for a brief moment in the opening set but their momentum fizzled out quickly under the scorching morning sun and never recovered in a dampener of an opener in Pool H.

“It was still a good game for us. I only had almost three weeks of training while Pons had around two weeks, but despite that, we were still able to keep up somehow,” said Rondina, who scored 13 points.

“Our opponents also regularly compete in Elite 16 tournaments, so they’re really high-level teams. But we’re not making excuses because we still gave our best. They just played the better game today.”

The duo gave glimpse of the same performance they’ve shown in the historic Southeast Asian Games gold medal conquest last year in the first set after racking up four straight points to take a 15-12 lead.

However, the Danes countered with a 6-1 rally to gain control and pull the rug from under the hosts.

Denmark sustained its momentum as it created a safe cushion to stave off the Filipinas’ attempt at a comeback in the tournament backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee.

Rondina and Pons were sent to the loser’s bracket, facing Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele as of press time.

The local pair was gunning for redemption against the same duo that knocked them out in last year’s Challenge in the round of 24 in a tight, 18-21, 24-22, 15-12, decision.

“We’re still looking at the positive side even though we lost. We fought hard, we just fell short this time. I know we still need to polish our partnership again. Like Coach said, our game wasn’t bad overall, but we gave away too many unforced errors,” said Pons, who had 12 markers.

Former National Basketball Association player Chase Budinger debuted in style with his new partner Trevor Crabb, sweeping Canada’s Luke de Greeff and Tynan Gannett, 21-9, 21-13, in the men’s division.

The 37-year-old Budinger, who played from 2009 to 2016, became a mainstay in the World Tour for Team USA, winning a gold medal in 2023 Haikou Challenge in China.

“It’s great. I’ve been here once during the Olympic run. I love the tournament, it was amazing so I was happy to be able to come back again. I love how the people are really nice, the accommodations amazing so I love playing here. Maybe I wish it wasn’t so hot but besides that, everything’s great,” said Budinger, who is eyeing an Olympic run in Los Angeles 2028 with Crabb.

“It’s a stepping stone. First tournament for us. Just to get to know each other and get the feel of playing with each other. We haven’t had many practices together so we’re kinda learning on the fly and this is a great tournament for us to do that,” he added.