Phl beach spikers down HK

Alas Pilipinas’ Khylem Progella and Sofiah Pagara succeeded in building momentum heading to the Round of 16 of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games women’s beach volleyball competition.

The Philippine pair swept the group stage with a win over Hong Kong’s Tung To Wing and Man To Wing, 21-19, 21-17, on Saturday at the Hekinan Ryokuchi Beach Court.

Alas played sharply throughout the match, keeping pressure on its Hong Kong counterpart in the 36-minute Pool G encounter.

The Filipina tandem swept all three games in their group without dropping a set. The Pinay beach volleybelles also defeated Maldives and Mongolia to secure a ticket to the knockout stage.

The pair will wait until Sunday’s pool play conclusion to determine its Round of 16 opponent on Monday.

Hong Kong closed the stage with a 2-1 record and will also advance in the next phase.

Also heading to the Round of 16 are Sisi Rondina-Rosales and Bernadeth Pons after posting a 1-1 slate in Pool E behind uneaten Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, James Buytrago and Ronniel Rosales fight for dear life against unbeaten Indonesians Sofyan Efendi and Bintang Akbar today in Pool C of the men’s division.

The Alas Men pair carry a 1-1 mark tied with Vietnam, which dealt the Philippines a 22-24, 15-21, loss last Wednesday.