Sisi Rondina was the first to admit that she struggled during Choco Mucho’s crucial straight-set loss to Cignal in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference on Tuesday.
Rondina, who had averaged 28.5 points in the Rebisco-backed squad’s past two games, was limited to just 14 points on a 28-percent attacking clip, along with 13 excellent digs and six excellent receptions.
“Malungkot ako. Kasi hindi talaga ako sanay na natatalo, so parang mabigat para sa akin kasi hindi ko ‘man lang natulungan yung mga kasama ko para i-angat sila,” said Rondina after the 15-25, 21-25, 21-25 loss to the HD Spikers that eliminated them from the semis contention.
“Pero I’m sure na I gave my best para sa kanila at para din sa team namin at sa mga coaches namin. Sama-sama naman kami. Sabi ko nga sa kanila, sama-sama tayong manalo, sama-sama rin tayong matatalo,” she added.
The 5-foot-9 former UST star said that she was proud of the fight that the Flying Titans showed in the tough loss.
After dropping a lopsided first set, the Flying Titans found themselves in a huge hole again at the start of the second frame when Cignal took a 10-2 lead. Choco Mucho, however, made sure to put up a fight, closing the gap to a solitary point before eventually losing the set.
“Aminado naman ako na off din ako nun e. ‘Di ko naman itatanggi talaga yun, pero I tried na makabalik and ipakita sa mga kasama ko na maglalaro pa rin kami sama-sama. Ayun, ang maganda doon kahit papanalo na yung Cignal, kaya pa namin. Kinakaya pa namin,” said Rondina.
“‘Di ko rin alam anong nangyari sa amin kanina. Pero ano naman yun e, team effort naman yun e. [Ang] maganda doon pinilit pa rin namin na lumaban, and happy pa rin ako. It’s my first conference with them and andon na, sabi nga malayo pa pero malayo na. So yun yung pinanghahawakan namin,” she added.
With the semis now out of reach, Rondina and the Flying Titans are setting their sights on their upcoming classification match against the loser of the PLDT-Chery Tiggo match-up.
