Cebuana Sisi Rondina says beach volleyball will always have a special place in her heart

Sisi Rondina. | MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

CEBU CITY, Philippines— Sisi Rondina showed a lot of spunk in her return to indoor volleyball in the recent Invitational Conference of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL).

Rondina, the 26-year-old firecracker from Compostela town in Cebu, returned from a four-year hiatus in indoor volleyball after committing as a full-time Philippine beach volleyball player.

She returned to play for the Choco Mucho Flying Titans (CMFT) and although the team missed the semifinals, Rondina nevertheless made an impact in the league.

She topped the elimination round, scoring a total of 104 points in five games.

“Sobrang comfortable ako sa CMFT. Well mabilis nalang din [adjustment] kasi lahat sila nakalaro ko na sa UAAP so hindi naging mahirap in terms of adjustment,” said Rondina.

(I was very comfortable with CMFT. Adjusting was easy because I’ve played with my teammates in the UAAP so it wasn’t that difficult in terms of adjustment.)   

Experience gained

How does she assess her performance with Choco Mucho?

“For me, alam kong makakakuha kami ng experience ‘dun. We are looking forward na di lang experience ang makuha namin kundi malaman namin kung ano ‘yung mga kaya naming gawin and kaya naming ipakita pagdating sa international competition,” Rondina shared.

(For me, I know we gained some experience in the tournament. We are looking forward to gaining more aside from that as we also want to know what we can do and what we can show when it comes to international competitions.)

So now that she is slowly getting her groove in indoor volleyball, will she be staying for long?

“Beach volley will always have a place in my heart talaga. Never kung buburahin and never kong kalimutan ang beach volley kasi dyan ako nakilala and dyan din ako nag grow.” Rondina said.

(I will never forget beach volley because that’s where I got known and that’s where I grew as a player.)

Rondina says that if she will be called to play beach volleyball again, she definitely won’t say no.

“Kung bibigyan man ako ng pagkakataon na maglaro ulet, [I] will definitely play talaga. Di ko e nono ‘yan kung di maconflict,” she said.

(If I am given the chance to play beach volleyball again, I will definitely play. I won’t say no if there won’t be any conflict.)

Rondina on playing alongside fellow Cebuanas Wong, Molde

At this point, Rondina says she is happy and comfortable playing both beach and indoor volleyball.

With regards to playing alongside two other Cebuanas in the team, Rondina said it helps a lot.

(The communication is faster and we understand each other better and yes it’s a good thing that there are Cebuanas playing in the pro and we are also grateful to have the chance to show our passion and talent in the sport that we play.)

Rondina is in a CMFT team that also has Cebuanas Deanna Wong and Isa Molde.

On her expectations for the All-Filipino Conference, Rondina says the team just needs to work on the things that should be improved to be able to be better.

“Sabi nga ni coach Dante, magtiwala lang kami sa programa nila. I know marami pa kaming e improve and need e assess, but I am excited to do that together with the team,” Rondina said.

(Like what coach Dante said, we just have to trust in their program. I know we have a lot to improve on and need to be assessed but I am excited to do that together with the team.) /rcg

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