Adamson University head coach Air Padda just stirred the fire that burns inside University of Santo Tomas’ volatile hitter Cherry Rondina.
Padda showed her admiration for Rondina on Wednesday when the Lady Falcons beat University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 80 women’s volleyball tournament but she also shared her observation regarding UST’s reliance on the 21-year-old hitter.
“She’s a fireball, I love her energy. When I talk about killer instinct, beast mode, she’s probably the perfect exampleof that right now,” said Padda. “But, you know, one player can’t win games, you can’t do that by yourself.”
Rondina took note of Padda’s observations, and she responded in one way she does well as she scored 22 points in UST’s sweep of Adamson, 25-9, 31-29, 25-19, Sunday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
And it wasn’t just Rondina, who did the damage for UST as Dimdim Pacres, who became the team’s second option with rookie Milena Alessandrini sidelined due to a shoulder injury, had 13 points and Carla Sandova adding nine.
“We saw the video and I told my teammates, ‘are we going to allow that?’” said Rondina in Filipino. “We have to play as a team, have that whole team effort and don’t let anyone say anything about UST.”
The Golden Tigresses’ win saw them improve to 2-2 and are now tied with the Lady Falcons, Ateneo, and Far Eastern University at the third spot.
Rondina added the win is a confidence booster for them especially that they haven’t racked up a win streak this season.
“This will really boost our confidence, and this is also for my teammates because now we know that we can win like this as long as we play correctly,” said Rondina.