SOFIAH Pagara and Khy Progella made history for Philippine volleyball on Thursday, securing the country’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the sport.
The Alas Pilipinas Beach duo rallied past China’s Cao Shuting and Dong Jie, 13-21, 23-21, 15-13, in the bronze medal match to claim a historic podium finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad.
READ: Pagara-Progella going to battle for bronze after getting blocked into final
Pagara and Progella had to dig deep after dropping the opening set, but fought back in a tight second frame and then completing the comeback in the decider.
The Chinese pair threatened to pull away in the deciding set, building a four-point lead at 8-4 in the race-to-15 frame. But the Philippine duo refused to let the match slip away, steadily chipping at the deficit before turning the tables late.
Pagara and Progella had been perfect through the preliminary round, sweeping all three of their Pool G matches without dropping a set against opponents from Hong Kong, the Maldives, and Mongolia.
They carried that momentum into the knockout stage, sweeping Japan’s sister tandem of Non and Ren Matsumoto in the quarterfinals to move within one win of the gold-medal match.
Their unbeaten run ended in the semifinals, where they were swept by Thailand’s Taravadee Naraphornrapat and Worapeerachayakorn Kongphopsarutawadee. The same Thai pair had earlier eliminated fellow Filipinas Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons in the quarterfinals.
Pagara and Progella bounced back in the bronze-medal match, however, saving their best comeback for last to secure the Philippines’ first-ever Asian Games medal in volleyball and deliver a much-needed milestone to an embattled Alas program.
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