Jay Rack de la Noche and Alexander Iraya yielded to experienced Thai foes Wednesday to bow out of contention in the quarterfinals of the 4th Asian U21 Beach Volleyball Championships in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
De la Noche and Iraya fell short in the opening set before completely losing steam in the second against Thailand-3’s Narakorn Chumaphai and Nopphawit Puttharong, 21-18, 21-10.
The Filipino pair was coming off a hard earned 15-21, 21-14, 15-10 victory over Australians Connor O’Neill and Ruben Gale in the morning, but couldn’t sustain that momentum against their tough Thai opponents.
De La Noche and Iraya lost their Pool B opening match Tuesday against another Thai pair in Netitorn Muneekul and Wachirawit Muadpha, 21-12, 21-14, before beating the Australians to advance to the quarters.
But that proved to be their last stand.
Still, it was an impressive showing for the young Filipino spikers, who debuted in the international scene only last week in the 3rd Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships on the same venue.