Sisi Rondina came prepared in Game 2, knowing what’s on the line.
The Choco Mucho star knew that it was win-or-go-home for her team in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference semifinals.
With that in mind, she went to Philsports Arena on Saturday knowing it’s gonna be a war.
That mindset bore fruit. The Flying Titans regained their winning ways after seeing their 10-game winning streak snapped in Game 1, retaliating with a 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 victory against Cignal to force a do-or-die Game 3.
“Sabi ko nga paulit ulit, lagi akong naka-mindset na kumbaga gera nga ‘to. Lagi kong sinasabi na mananalo kami. Naka-mindset kami na mananalo,” said the 5-foot-6 high-flying spiker after the game.
“Kahit ako lang personally naniniwala na mananalo kami, ‘di ko kasi alam yung mga mindset nila. Lagi kong sinasabi sa sarili ko na kailangan namin ma-extend ‘to,” added Rondina, also the emotional leader of Choco Mucho.
Rondina personally improved by leaps and bounds with their backs against the wall.
In their five-set reverse sweep loss to the HD Spikers last Thursday, the elimination round second-best scorer was held to just 19 points on a dismal 18-of-67 clip on the spiking category, good for just 26.8-percent.
On Saturday’s sweep, the proud daughter of Cebu unleashed 23 points. She outperformed herself in Game 1, and on a much better spiking efficiency, converting 20 of her 49 attempts for 40.8-percent.
“Kailangan yung pagod namin magbunga kasi sa totoo lang, nakakapagod na talaga,” said Rondina, a University of Santo Tomas legend.
“Nakakapagod na yung training kasi syempre gusto na rin namin magpahinga pero wala, ang ginawa namin is kailangan magbunga lahat ng pagod namin and ayun, outcome naman nun magandang performance, sistema ni coach, programa ni coach. Yun lang, ginagawa at sinusunod lang namin siya.”
After the Game 1 loss, Rondina rallied her troops saying the semifinals is a best-of-three series. After the Game 2 win, the message was the same.
The job’s not done, though.
Game 3 is set on Tuesday, still at the Pasig venue.
“Pagkakatiwalaan namin kung ano yung gusto ni Coach Dante Alinsunurin and plano niya. Syempre yung commitment namin sa isa’t isa, sa team na ‘to, and ito na may Game 3, kailangan naming mag all out,” said Rondina, who came back to indoor volleyball just last conference after focusing on the sands for four years.
“Magandang ano ‘to, magandang preparation ‘to. Confidence rin ‘to para sa amin, para sa Game 3 namin. Lalaban kami.”
