Double celebration for Sisi Rondina as Choco Mucho, UST make finals

Choco Mucho Flying Titans’ Sisi Rondina during the PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinals.–PVL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Sisi Rondina had a lot of reasons to celebrate on Sunday.

For one, her mother club in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) just reached the All-Filipino Conference Finals after defeating Petro Gazz, 23-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-20.

The finals-clinching victory in the PVL came not long after her alma mater University of Santo Tomas reached the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball title round at the expense of defending champion La Salle.

READ: Choco Mucho sets up PVL Finals rematch vs Creamline

“Of course, those kids make me proud,” said a giddy Rondina in Filipino after erupting for a game-high 32 points.

“They showed that volleyball isn’t all about physicality. It’s really all about heart and hard work. I’m also proud of the coaches of UST, Kung Fu (Reyes), because they really trained those talents. They all deserve it. Hopefully, they maintain [the momentum] and not forget all the people who helped them.”

The last time the Golden Tigresses reached the UAAP Finals was exactly five years ago led by Rondina, who was also the league MVP at the time.

READ: UST Tigresses dethrone La Salle, return to UAAP volleyball Finals

As for the Flying Titans, Rondina said the work is far from done with an upcoming finals rematch against the defending champions Creamline Cool Smashers.

“We’ll start with work. We’ll do what we always do in practice. I always think about what coach Jessie (Lopez) says to me, which is to just go at it as long as I score. When I did that, it was super effective.”

“Maybe, that influenced my attitude and hopefully it also motivates the others. We’ll keep working.”