It was late in January 2017 and Cherry Rondina was running through drills in the first day of National Team tryouts. Rondina’s measurables were incredible, registering one of the top vertical leaps and recording the most push-ups among the best volleyball players in the country.
On the second day of tryouts at the Arellano Law School gym, in front of coaches and media, Rondina shone in a scrimmage, scoring from everywhere and even showing up well-known names in local volleyball.
When the initial 25-woman pool was announced, Rondina wasn’t even considered.
That is how it has always gone for Cherry Rondina. The Cebuana was one of the best players in Visayas in high school, but was not highly-recruited by UAAP schools due to her wiry five-foot-five frame.
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In Season 77, her first year in University of Santo Tomas, Rondina barely saw the court, coming in only to shift the pace of the game when the Golden Tigresses needed a nudge of energy.
It wasn’t until Season 78 that Rondina finally got a crack at the starting rotation. Since then, she’s never looked back.
Now, Rondina is the most electric performer in the UAAP. The 21-year-old is the top scorer of Season 80, putting up at least 20 points in every match and carrying the undermanned Tigresses to unlikely performances this season.
In truth, Rondina has become inevitable. She scores at will and, true to her “Rondina-papagod” monicker, she only gets better when the stakes get higher.
She leads the UAAP in scoring, edging out Lady Bulldog Jaja Santiago — who is a full foot taller than her. The contrast between both players was on full display when the UST locked horns with the National University last Sunday.
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With two starters sitting out due to injury, UST gave the undefeated Lady Bulldogs everything they could handle. The match nearly went to a fifth set, as Santiago bravely fought to fend off a Rondina-lead rally down the stretch of the fourth set.
In the end, UST went down in true Rondina fashion. Lagging 26-27, Rondina swung for the fences, but the found them too high, with Filipino-Japanese middle blocker Risa Sato denying her furious smash.
Rondina finished with 25 points, six more than Santiago. But NU took home the win and handed UST their third loss in five matches.
While she literally scored one-fourth of UST’s points, Rondina still feels she could have done more.
“I always think the team, kailangan namin mag-double time, magtulungan.
“Sinasabi ko na pag mataas ‘yung bola, walang titigil. Wala, may mga kulang talaga na kailangan namin punan. Kahit ako, ang daming mali kanina. Dahil doon sa mga mali ko, nabigyan ng buhay ang NU,” she rued.
The UST senior did concede that facing taller girls like Santiago brings out her passion. She does not see her height as a detriment; rather, she uses it as a challenge.
“Pinakita ko lang na I treasure kung ano ‘yung meron sa akin, kung ano ‘yung binigay sa akin, kung anong kailangan kong gawin para maging memorable ‘yung ginagawa ko,” Rondina clarified. “Facing Ate Jaja, sinabi ko na hindi naman hindrance ‘yung height ko para hindi makalaro sa UAAP. ‘Yung mindset ko, every time na may game, mindset ko na mananalo kami. Always ko ‘yang iniisip. Kahit day before the game, nasa isip ko na na masaya kami.
“‘Yung mga nakikita niyo, siguro ‘yun ‘yung willingness, ‘yung mindset ko ‘rin. Siyempre, before ako pumasok dito, pinangarap ko talaga ‘to. ‘Yun nga, sobrang niyayakap kung ano ‘yung kaya kong gawin, ‘yung opportunity na ‘to.”
Cherry Rondina is everything fans love, and not in spite of her height. Cherry Rondina is everything fans love because of her height.
“Hindi sa mayabang na paraan, ha? Pero, sabihin na lang natin na marami silang (taller players) nagagawa, why not me ‘di ba? Kaya ko din. Okay, sila ‘yung binigyan ng height, pero, sa maliliit na bagay, pwede kang magpakitang gilas, pwede kang makitaan ng skillls kung saan malakas para ma-prove na kahit ganoon ka, kaya mo.”
