Rondina vows stronger comeback after promising quarterfinal finish

Sisi Rondina (right) and Bernadeth Pons (left) in one of their BPT Futures matches. | Contributed photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebuana volleyball star Sisi Rondina and her partner Bernadeth Pons ended their beach volleyball comeback with a defeat in the semifinals of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures in Nuvali, Laguna over the weekend.

Rondina and Pons, who rekindled their storied beach volleyball tandem that saw multiple international stints and wins in this tournament, ended with a defeat against Romania’s Beata Vaida and Francesca Ioana Alupei, 21-18, 19-21, 12-15.

However, Rondina made it clear that she’s far from done.

While the loss stung, the 28-year-old Rondina drew energy from the electric support of local fans and remained upbeat about what lies ahead.

“So amazing! It just feels so bad that it ended early,” said Rondina, who showed flashes of her signature explosiveness despite battling rust after a two-year focus on indoor volleyball.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity and we deeply appreciate the warm reception.”

Despite limited preparation—barely a week of training—the Choco Mucho star in the PVL and Pons still managed to put together a gritty campaign, drawing praise from Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Rondina admitted there’s plenty of room for improvement and pledged to push harder as they eye podium finishes in future international tournaments, including a strong return to the Southeast Asian Games in December.

“We’ll keep working. I’ll do everything I can to fight for medals again,” she said.

Pons, for her part, acknowledged her struggles with timing on blocks but echoed Rondina’s determination.

“We have a lot to work on, but this is a good start,” said the Creamline star. “We’ll do better in the next events.”

Pons and Rondina had earlier scored solid wins over Dutch and Vanuatuan pairs before running out of steam against the Romanians.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Shaunna Polley and Olivia Macdonald ruled the tournament after defeating over Japan’s Sakura Ito and Mayu Sawame, 21-18, 21-14.