Indonesians oust fancied Spanish pair

MANILA, Philippines - Indonesia played better and smarter as a team to beat top-seeded Spain yesterday, 22-20, 23-21, in a tight quarterfinals match in the Spike for Peace International beach volley tournament at Philsports Arena.

Dini Putu and Juliana Dhita, smaller compared to Amaranta Fernandez and Ester Ribera of Spain, hit well-placed shots all game long and sent the top seeds sprawled all over the makeshift sandcourt.

“They are smart but we played as a team,” said Dhita after the win that set the Indons up for a semifinals match with Japan, a surprise 21-9, 21-11 win over New Zealand in another quarterfinals match.

Brazil outsteadied the Netherlands, 21-14, 19-21, 15-12, and will face the winner between Thailand and Sweden in the semis of this indoor event put up by the Philippine Sports Commission.

The semis will be played at 1 p.m. today, leading to the finals of the event put up by the Philippine Sports Commission and offering a winner’s purse of $8,000.

A total of 13 teams from 11 countries participated in the unique indoor beach volley event. Two teams from the Philippines did not make it to the knockout stage.

Putu and Dhita overcame a 20-17 deficit in the opening set and took it by winning five straight points, two on soft shots by Dhita and two on back-to-back aces by Putu.

The Indonesian pair have been campaigning together for four years and won the bronze in the 2014 Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand.

So far, they’re unbeaten in three matches here.

Losing the first set against the second-seeded team told heavily on the Spanish players as they fell behind early in the second set at 5-0.