Former UST teammates Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina headline Alas Pilipinas for the AVC Challenge Cup. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Eya Laure will be reuniting with Sisi Rondina when they represents the country for the Alas Pilipinas in the AVC Challenge Cup from May 22 to 29 at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Five years after they last played together and led the University of Santo Tomas to a runner-up finish in the UAAP Season 81 Finals, Laure and Rondina will be fighting together and sharing the same goal, this time, for the flag and pride of the Philippines.
“I’m excited because I will be with her [Sisi] this time,” Laure told reporters in Filipino while hugging Rondina. “This time I’m looking forward to a lot of new things because for how many years this is the only time that I will play with Ate Sisi again.”
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The former UST dynamic duo have come a long way since leading the Tigresses to a Cinderella run in 2019 when Rondina won the Season 81 MVP and Laure emerged as her runner-up and Rookie of the Year — both emerging as the league’s Best Outside Hitters.
They may have made their respective marks in the pros with Rondina earning last year’s MVP and bringing Choco Mucho to back-to-back Finals and Laure leading Chery Tiggo as one of PVL’s rising stars. But the pair will be on the same page again, reuniting to give the new-look national team a major boost,
“The PVL is different. For the national team, whoever coach fields will work hard inside the court. If he subs me in, I will do my job and exert the same effort I’ve been doing in the PVL here in AVC,” said Rondina in Filipino.
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Laure will also get a chance to team up again with star setter Jia De Guzman, who was her playmaker during her national squad debut in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in her last major international tournament before the pandemic, and former UAAP rival and La Salle star Angel Canino.
“[I’m also] looking forward to playing with ate Jia. It really felt different when we teamed up in the 2019 SEA Games,” said Laure of the Denso AiryBees setter in Japan V.League.
“There are also several new additions like Angel. I’m so excited with the new learnings and experience that we will have as a team,” she added.
Both Rondina and Laure joined national team just after the PVL All-Filipino Conference Final round last Sunday where Choco Mucho ended up as the runner-up and Chery Tiggo finished fourth.
“Kung may Gilas, may Alas naman. Very excited lang talaga maglaro ulit na representing the country naman this time,” Laure said.
“Siyempre karangalan din naman yung makapaglaro bitbit ang bansa. Tatrabahuhin pa rin namin. Sana marami kaming magawang maganda and maganda yung resulta,” Rondina added.