Choco Mucho’s Sisi Rondina (18) during a crucial clash with Cignal in the PVL Invitational Conference. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Sisi Rondina admitted it was heartbreaking to come up short in bringing Choco Mucho back in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) semifinals.
Choco Mucho missed out on a semifinals berth for the fourth straight time after getting eliminated by Cignal 15-25, 21-25, 21-25, in their pivotal Pool B showdown in the Invitational Conference on Tuesday at Philsports Arena.
“Malungkot ako. Kasi ako hindi talaga ako sanay na natatalo so parang mabigat para sa akin kasi hindi ko ‘man lang natulungan yung mga kasama ko para i-angat sila pero I’m sure na I gave my best para sa kanila and para din sa team namin at sa mga coaches namin,” said Rondina after being limited to 14 points on an 11-of-40 attacking clip.
(I’m sad because I’m really not used to losing so it’s a hard pill to swallow for me after not being able to uplift my teammates. But I’m sure that I gave my best for my teammates and coaches.)
“Sama sama naman kami. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, sama sama tayong manalo, sama sama rin tayong matatalo.”
(At least we’re always together. Like I told them, we win as a team, we lose as a team.)
“[Ang] maganda doon pinilit pa rin namin na lumaban and happy pa rin ako. It’s my first conference with them and andon na, sabi nga malayo pa pero malayo na,” she added.
(What’s important is that we really tried our best to fight and with that, I’m still happy. It’s just my first conference with them and we’re getting there. We’re still a long way to go but we’ve come a long way.)
Rondina, who returned from a four-year hiatus in indoor volleyball after committing as a full-time Philippine beach volleyball player, rued that they lacked in the reception department which led to a series of slow starts and a straight-set loss to the HD Spikers led by Jovelyn Gonzaga and Rachel Anne Daquis.
“Kanina kasi wala lang talaga siguro kaming receive kanina. Aminado naman ako na off din ako nun e. ‘Di ko naman itatanggi talaga yun pero I tried na makabalik and ipakita sa mga kasama ko na maglalaro pa rin kami sama-sama. Ayun, ang maganda doon kahit papanalo namin yung Cignal, kinakaya pa namin,” she said.
(We’re just not our best at the receiving end. I admit I also had an off night. I’m not denying that but I tried to show my teammates that we’re still together playing. Even though Cignal won, we tried.)
The 26-year-old Rondina, who topped the elimination round scoring with a total of 104 points in five games, will no longer qualify for an individual award after Choco Mucho finished third in Pool B and was relegated to the battle for seventh place.
Rondina said Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin, who politely refused to attend the postgame interview, wanted them to still go all out in the classification game and somehow build momentum for the next conference.
“Back to the drawing board kami, ganun lang yung sinabi niya. Wala raw kaming dapat sisihin, sila raw. Kailangan lang namin pagtrabahuhan ulit yun,” she said. “Training pa rin kami sa mga susunod na mga araw para sa [classification]. Magtitiwala pa rin kami sa coaches namin and sa teammates namin.”
(Coach told us that it’s back to the drawing board. We don’t have anyone to blame but them (coaches). We just need to continue working hard to get where we want to go. We need to continue to train in the coming days for the classification. We’re keeping our faith in our coaches and teammates.)