Sisi Rondina reveals declining PNVF offer at first, but says decision to suit up all worth it
Sisi Rondina initially rejected the offer of Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) to join Alas Pilipinas in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup, but her decision to suit up still was proven right as they copped a historic bronze medal on Wednesday.
Rondina said she would have chosen to just use the time to recuperate as her mother club Choco Mucho was coming off a grueling campaign in the PVL All-Filipino Conference, where they fell to Creamline in the finals just last May 12.
However, the 5-foot-6 outside hitter chose to banner the flag instead and helped the national team protect its home soil in the AVC tilt.
“Sobrang thankful ako sa coaching staff na nagtiwala talaga kasi I already declined na ma-lineup ako dito sa national team kasi mas pipiliin kong magpahinga,” Rondina shared.
“Pero ayun iba talaga ‘yung feeling na dadalhin mo ‘yung country so nung nalaman ko din ‘yung mga makakasama ko, sabi ko ‘Sige why not i-try ko dito sa indoor’.”
(I am thankful to the coaching staff for the trust because I already declined for national team duty because I would have wanted to rest. But it’s really a different feeling when you represent the country so when I have known who will be the other players in the team, I told myself, ‘Sure, why not try here in indoor.'”)
Rondina also proved her worth in the continental tournament.
The former UST standout immediately made impact after pouring in 16 points in their tournament opener against Australia last Thursday, helping Angel Canino and Eya Laure in the offense and defense as they kicked off AVC on a rousing note.
Rondina also churned out 13 markers in their final game, helping Alas blank Australia anew to cop the bronze medal, which emerges as the country’s first-ever AVC medal in 63 years.
“Grabe lagare talaga pero wala eh, kami ‘yung nilagay dito and nagpapasalamat kami talaga sa mga taong sumuporta, sa mga totoong sumusuporta, ang dami naming nababasa actually,” Rondina added.
“Pero okay lang basta dinala namin ‘tong country and we’re part of it (history) and para sa kanila ‘tong panalo na ‘to most especially sa mga taong hindi kami iniwan sa pinakauna pa lang.”
(But it’s really continuous, we were put here and I thank those who supported and those who truly supported, we read a lot. It’s okay as long as we carry the flag and we’re part of history. This win is for them, most especially those who did not leave us since Day One.)
