Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Cherry Rondina was at the top of her game when she led University of Santo Tomas to the finals of the UAAP Season 81 women’s volleyball tournament in 2019.
Her fiery play earned her the MVP award and utmost admiration from UST’s supporters and also of those who cheered for eventual champion Ateneo.
Rondina’s time in the spotlight, though, has dwindled when she left the Golden Tigresses due to graduation, but that didn’t diminish her reputation one bit.
FIVB, the world’s governing body for volleyball, recognized Sisi Rondina as one the premier faces of the sport in the Philippines in a profile posted on its website where the “Cherry Bomb” bared one of her wishes.
“I have never wanted anything in my life but to see Philippine sports in harmony. I always pray for all Filipino athletes across all sports to have the opportunity to show our talent and passion to the world,” said Rondina in the interview.
Rondina wasn’t the first Filipino volleyball player to be featured in FIVB’s official website with Jaja Santiago, who’s playing for Ageo Medics in Japan, also getting recognized.
“More importantly, I pray for our success as we pursue our dreams, and for more people to be more passionate about sports.”
Rondina played in both the indoor and beach volleyball circuits as a national team player but it was in the sand court where she found her first international plum
Playing with partner Bernadeth Pons, Rondina captured the bronze medal in the beach volleyball event of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games marking the first time she won a piece of hardware for the Philippines in international competition.
“The bronze medal felt like gold with the support we got from Filipinos cheering from the stands. We showed a lot of grit, we put our hearts in each match and we took advantage of every opportunity given to us,” said Rondina.
“This experience pushed me to be even more serious in my pursuit of success in beach volleyball.”