In her highly anticipated return to indoor volleyball play, Sisi Rondina’s MVP-like performance for Choco Mucho in the ongoing 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference has caught the attention of many, including F2 head coach Regine Diego.
Diego’s Cargo Movers remained undefeated after surviving a thrilling five-set match against the Flying Titans, winning 21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-21, 18-16 on Tuesday night at the Philsports Arena. Rondina led Choco Mucho with an outstanding performance, scoring a tournament-high 28 points through 27 attacks and one block.
The young head coach also praised the coaches who guided the former UAAP Most Valuable Player, as they have molded her into a formidable player. Throughout her volleyball career, Rondina has been mentored by notable figures such as Kungfu Reyes, Paul Doloiras, Shaq Delos Santos, and João Luciano Simao Barbosa.
“That girl is really something else… Sisi sobrang galing mo naman, sana all. That’s all I could say but kudos also to all na nagging coach ni Sisi,” said Diego.
“You made a monster, she’s very scary.”
Diego recognized the need to learn from their hard-fought five-set victory, acknowledging that Choco Mucho gave them a tough challenge and has truly transformed into formidable ‘titans’.
The Flying Titans didn’t back down without a fight, as Rondina received support from three double-digit scorers: Des Cheng with 13 points, Cherry Nunag with 12, and Caitlyn Viray with 10.
“It was just a good game with my girls and maybe a little bit luckier than Choco Mucho because Choco Mucho is a titan, they’re really a titan,” said Diego.
“Sobrang lakas nila ngayon but I think we just worked together.”
Despite surviving a Choco Mucho squad led by Rondina, Diego emphasized the importance of recovery and training to secure a spot in the first semi-finals against Petro Gazz on Thursday.
“We have to recover more because our next game is on Thursday… Sleep, nutrition, supplementation, we got coaches naman for that and they’re doing really well,” she said.
“I know these girls are not going to be overconfident hopefully for the next game. So we’re just going to celebrate for a second here and we’ll just move on and continue to work,” Diego concluded. (Ernest Martin Tuazon)
