Silver medal in Nuvali big boost to PHL beach volleyball–kiodai
THEIR ecstatic smiles say it all. Ran Abdilla did fist pumps like he was the one on the court. AJ Pareja’s shoulders moved to the beat as dance music blared through the loudspeakers. Kly Orillaneda, Gen Eslapor, Alexa Polidario and Jen Gaviola cheered lustily. Coach Joao Luciano Koidai and his lieutenants grinned as they exchanged congratulations.
At the center of it all, Rancel Varga and James Buytrago.
It was a familiar end-of-tournament scene when fans invade the pitch to celebrate with their heroes. The difference was the victory anthem “We are the Champions” by Queen was not being played.
Still, the crowd at the Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in the City of Santa Rosa roared as Varga and Buytrago received their silver medals and a trophy in the 2024 FIVB Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures after a nip-and-tuck battle that Czech Republic’s Krystof Jan Oliva and Vaclav Kurka won on Sunday night, 21-16, 16-21, 13-15.
This performance was more valuable than silver.
A tough Rancel-buytrago duo
NO stranger to tough competition, Rancel Varga and James Buytrago were elated to be on the showcourt on the very last match of the event that featured 38 teams from 16 countries.
“We’re proud to earn a place in a tournament like this. It’s a different level, it’s great to be able to compete against international pro athletes,” Buytrago said.
A member of the bronze medal-winning Philippine men’s beach volleyball quartet in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games last year, Buytrago noted that the whole team is glad to be given the chance to compete in front of the home crowd.
“We are honored to show what we can do, in front of a live audience. Here, Filipinos witnessed that the Philippine beach volleyball teams are a tough bunch,” he added.
The former National University star vows an even better performance in their next competition—the teams are looking to participate in other FIVB Futures events overseas—and he hopes to put on another show for the home crowd soon.
“We’ll strive to do better, especially since we still have a lot to prove, we have not earned the gold,” he said.
No regrets for silver medal
THERE was a noticeable spring in Rancel Varga’s step in the knockout matches and it was there until the very last point of the title duel.*
It wasn’t sugar rush for sure. Varga said he didn’t have even a piece of his birthday cake when he turned 24 on Friday, when the Philippine duo defeated 6-foot-6 Yusuke Ishijima and 6-footer Kensuke Shoji in straight sets.
“We knew the task at hand and we knew we could not waste an opportunity like this,” Varga said.
He almost forgot about his birthday, since the interval between matches in FIVB events was just a few hours.
“Because I was really focused on this,” Varga said. “I feel blessed to be on this stage at this age. I thank God for this gift.”
“We have no regrets about this performance,” said Varga, stressing that they entered the tournament with little expectations. “Podium was a big surprise, we didn’t even expect to make the knockout rounds.”
For Varga, the fine stint in back-toback tournaments validates the idea of teaming up with long-time rival in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
“We’ll surely do better in the next events because we just proved that this partnership works,” said the two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines MVP from University of Santo Tomas.
Two weeks of elite volleyball
JOAO LUCIANO KIODAI is pleased to see results in a short period.
Rancel Varga and James Buytrago were paired only after their UAAP stints ended last season, while the other teams also started training together only a few months before the Asian Volleyball Confederation Beach Tour Nuvali Open last week.
“I knew that when we started to play like we trained, we would have a performance on a good level to fight,” Kiodai said.
The Brazilian coach, tapped from the FIVB to handle the national team in December 2022, noted that Varga and Buytrago did very well in their first title match.
“I have no doubt about my athletes. We progressed game by game. We played a great match in the final but it’s very new for them being in the final,” Kiodai said. “I think the mental game, they faced it, the challenge, they did good.”
“Small things we could have done, maybe we could have won it, but this is the game. The other team wants to win, too,” he said. “Those Czech guys played great volleyball during this weekend, very consistent.”