Sisi Rondina pushes away self doubts to help Alas Pilipinas to bronze

Alas Pilipinas’ Sisi Rondina rises up for a hit against Australian defenders in their AVC Challenge Cup 2024 battle for bronze game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Sisi Rondina brought her bronze success from beach volleyball to her first Philippine women’s indoor stint in the AVC Challenge Cup.

Rondina drilled 13 points including the bronze-clinching kill to deliver the country’s first-ever AVC medal after sweeping Australia, 25-23, 25-15, 25-7, on Wednesday at Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

From winning two Southeast Asian Games bronze medals in 2019 and 2022, Rondina wasn’t expecting anything on her first Alas Pilipinas indoor rodeo due to the lack of rest coming off a grueling PVL All-Filipino Conference, where Choco Mucho had another runner-up finish.

READ: Alas Pilipinas wins AVC Challenge Cup bronze, beats Australia anew

The 5-foot-6 spiker had her doubts whether she could represent the country well due to fatigue but she still accepted the call of duty and embraced the challenge of going up against taller opponents.

“No one expected this outcome, but we vowed to take on the responsibility of being here,” Rondina said in Filipino.

I’m so thankful for the coaching staff for trusting me especially after initially declining to be in the line-up for the national team. I wanted to rest first. But there’s really nothing better than bringing honor to the country and when I found out who my teammates were going to be here, I said, ‘sige why not i-try ko dito sa indoor.’” 

“I had my self doubts playing indoor internationally, but we were able to show now what Filipinos are capable of. We’re thankful for all the support we’re getting,” she added.

READ: AVC Cup: Sisi Rondina finds a way to deliver vs taller Australia

Rondina may exhausted from her gruelling May schedule, but it was worth the sacrifice.

“We’re really grateful for our true supporters. We’ve been reading [some things], but that’s okay because we know how we carried the Philippines and we made history. This win is for those who believed and stayed with us from the start,” said the former PVL MVP.

After a historic indoor national team debut, Rondina is keen on continuing to represent the country but for now, she will take her much-needed rest.

“I’m choosing to rest now. Earlier, I just really pushed my self to play despite feeling something in my knee,” she said. “Though it’s just minor, I really need to rest. I will still grab opportunities if there’s any.”