Despite being away from beach volleyball for almost two years, Ranran Abdilla — Creamline’s newest beach volleyball acquisition— remains sharp as ever.
Paired with Pemie Bagalay in the recently-concluded national beach volleyball tryouts at the Subic Bay Sand Courts, the Tawi-Tawi native gave everything to make a case for a spot at the training pool for this year’s 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
“The night before ng tryout, sobrang excited ako. Honestly, sa sobrang excited ko, hindi ako nakatulog! Sabi ko, finally after two years makakaapak na ko sa buhangin at makakalaro na. And it’s good to be back sa sand court,” said Abdilla.
Charo Soriano, the Creamline beach volleyball program director, felt delighted to see the 6-foot-2 Abdilla back and performing well during the tryouts.
“Ranran’s athletic prowess and court maturity will definitely elevate the roster of Creamline Beach. His teammates will greatly benefit from Ranran’s experience as he shares his learning with the youngsters,” says Soriano.
Before concentrating on indoor, Abdilla’s most recent beach volleyball stint was in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 1-Star Boracay Open in May 2019. There, he paired with Air Force teammate Jessie Lopez. Prior to that, Abdilla’s partnership with Lopez resulted in four consecutive Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour leg championships.
A well-decorated spiker, he was on the silver medal men’s volleyball team, which made history in the 2019 SEA Games. Abdilla therefore knows that claiming a slot for the national beach volleyball team is not an easy picking.
“Unang-una talaga ang tinitingnan diyan is ‘yung disiplina ng isang player, dedication at commitment, ‘yung skills. Kasi para sa akin, nade-develop naman ‘yan once na nakapasok ka na sa team. Kasi hindi ka naman kukunin ng coach kung walang potential na nakita sa iyo. For me, disiplina, dedication sa training, at commitment ang pinaka-importante sa lahat,” said the 29-year old Abdilla.
Signed by Creamline to boost its men’s beach volleyball program last March, the La Salle-Dasmariñas product is ready to roll once competitions resume.
“Blessed ako na naging part ako ng Creamline beach volleyball ‘yung full support nila. Ang magiging motivation ko… Alam naman natin bihira lang ang magkaroon ng full support sa men’s, at iyan ang hindi ko sasayangin. And of course, my family as well,” said Abdilla.
Battle-tested as ever, Abdilla is more than ready to represent the country, this time in the sand court.
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