SISI Rondina had herself a spectacular finish to her indoor volleyball comeback and her first Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season, where she steered Choco Mucho to its first-ever Finals appearance whilst bagging conference MVP honors.
With another championship hunt in mind, Rondina frankly shared with SPIN.ph how she does not impose meticulous expectations on and targets for herself.
Instead, it's all about banking on her innate 'eagerness to learn and win' which has driven her forward all these years in both her beach and indoor careers.
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"Actually po, wala talaga [akong new targets] kasi every time na mag-ttraining ako, naglalaro ako, wala akong ibang iniisip kundi mag-trabaho lang. Sabi ko nga lagi sa mga kasama ko, sa natutunan ko kay Coach Kungfu (Reyes sa UST), walk the talk lang lagi kami," said Rondina.
"Wala akong expectations. Alam mo ‘yung eager talaga ako every season naman — siyempre eager to learn, eager to win, lahat. Sana may magandang outcome ‘yung mga ganung attitude na pinapakita namin and maipapakita pa namin," she added.
Bittersweet exits
Weeks after the Flying Titans soared to second place in the 2023 All-Filipino Conference last December, the league was rocked by its biggest player rigodon yet with Choco Mucho mainstays Bea De Leon and Denden Lazaro-Revila both jumping ship to their sister club and reigning champ Creamline.
Such were high-profile moves that Rondina fully respected and understood, but she did admit, however, to being saddened by their sudden departures after reaching the club's very first PVL podium together.
"Same pa rin naman. Siguro ‘yung ano lang talaga, ‘yung presence lang naman nila ‘yung nawala. Pero para sa’kin, happy naman ako kung ano ‘yung naging desisyon nila kasi I know mas mag-ggrow pa sila sa kung saan sila ngayon. We respect naman kung ano ‘yung desisyon nila."
PHOTO: PVL Media
Rondina added: ‘Yun lang, na-sad lang din ako personally kasi siyempre, nakapag-podium na rin kami and then ‘yun ‘yung nangyari. Masaya ako for them kasi may bago na silang team na papasukan.
Final touches before takeoff
As the days wind down before the 2024 PVL season kicks off on February 20, the newly-crowned league MVP identified one key area of improvement she's been working on in the offseason to sharpen her already-lethal craft and form before Choco Mucho launches its title bid.
"Nag-sstick lang kami sa programa na binibigay ni Coach Dante (Alinsunurin), sinusunod lang namin mga pinapagawa niya, and mas nag-fofocus kami sa mga weaknesses namin, lalo na ako sa receive," said Rondina.
"Pero okay naman, ito nag-ttraining pa rin and every day, may improvement. Thankful kami kasi ‘yung mga pasensya din ng coaches, nandu’n," she added.
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