Manila: Americans Alexis Durish and Audrey Koenig downed Ukrainians Inna Makhno and Iryna Makhno, 21-17, 21-19, to reach the Round of 16 at the World Beach Pro Tour Nuvali Challenge in Sta. Rosa, Laguna on Friday night.

According to Philippines News Agency, Durish and Koenig have won four gold medals on the Tour, including the Xiamen Challenge in China on Sunday. Durish remarked, "Today, we just really focused on our passes, and yesterday wasn't our best. We're just really trying to learn from that incident, and we executed pretty well." She emphasized their strategy by saying, "We just try to get one game at a time and not worry about the past. Every team here is tough, and we're just blessed to be able to compete with them."

The Americans finished second in Pool D with a 1-1 slate. They bowed to Ukrainians Yeva Serdiuk and Daria Romaniuk, 17-21, 19-21, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Americans Madelyne Anderson and Alaina Chacon also made it to the next round of the event organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Also advancing were Molly McBain and Ruby Sorra of Canada, Heleene Hollas and Liisa Remmelg of Estonia, Lilla Vill¡m and Stef¡nia Kun of Hungary, Lezana Placette and Alexia Richard of France, Tetiana Lazarenko and Sofiia Kurnikova of Ukraine, and Nigella Negenman and Floor Hogenhout of the Netherlands.