End of road for pretty beach volleybelles

DOHA — It’s the end of the road for RP beach volley in the Asian Games here as Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua succumbed to Yupa Phokongploy and Usa Tenpaksee of Thailand, 0-2, and the men’s tandem of Parley Tupaz and Rhovyl Velayo bowed to India, 1-2, and crashed out of the medal race with two losses late Thursday.

The Pascua-Ilustre tandem, which caught the fancy of the crowd at the Sport City with its charm and talent, blamed the loss to erratic offense and poor defense and said the windy condition somehow stymied their bid.

"It could be the amount of errors, said Ilustre as the duo could only convert 29 of its 68 attacks. "We didn’t play as well as we could have and passing was also a problem. The conditions weren’t really a factor but maybe the wind played a part."

For Pascua, it’s their defense that spelled the difference.

"Our defense got worse as the game went on," said Pascua. "We were a bit frustrated because if you lose, you go home."

So are the crowd, which has been a regular fixture here since the comely duo started to frolic and strut its wares on the sands of Doha. — Dante Navarro