Fight of the titans

Sisi Rondina-Rosales (right) rises for a kill. —PHOTOS BY PVL IMAGES

CEBU CITY—Known for his usually calm demeanor, Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin lost his cool after his team dropped the first two sets against Capital1 in the 10th season of Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference Siklab Series on Saturday.

In front of a packed crowd at SM Seaside Cebu Arena, Alinsunurin issued a challenge to his players.

“I told them I didn’t need players who were just talented; I needed a team that wanted to win,” said Alinsunurin, who trained in Cebu Friday morning, travelled back to Manila in the afternoon for National University’s V-League finals and then returned to Cebu early Saturday.

His challenge lit the fire under the Flying Titans as they turned to the University of Santo Tomas-raised duo of Eya Laure and Sisi Rondina-Rosales to eke out a come-from-behind 22-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-8 win over the revamped Capital1.

“Coach Dante rarely gets angry, so when he does, you start getting nervous and think, ‘This is serious. Coach is actually mad.’ That probably became our motivation, too, because we’re not used to seeing him like that,” said Laure after scoring six of her 22 points in the fifth set.

“But seriously, the instructions and feedback he constantly gives us are a big help. And when he delivers them with that kind of intensity, you really feel it and get motivated to respond,” added Laure, who also had 15 excellent receptions and 11 digs.

Laure just returned from a ninth-place finish with Alas Pilipinas in the Asian Games. Her longtime attack partner at UST, Rondina-Rosales, played only three sets, as she had just returned home and trained for only four days after a quarterfinals stint in Aichi-Nagoya.

Rondina-Rosales, inspired by her fellow Cebuanos and her new jersey that includes her husband Ronniel’s surname, finished with 12 points, including timely hits in the fifth.

“For me, from the third set to the fifth, we could really see the difference. Coach Dante getting angry was a wake-up call for us, so I’m glad we responded and fought back. We just told ourselves to keep going and see where it takes us. We shouldn’t let the opportunities that come our way slip away,” the former league MVP said.

Maddie Madayag had 11 points, while newest Flying Titan Lorene Toring added five. Dawn Macandili-Catindig had 16 digs.

“I think that challenged them, and I’m really thankful for how they responded. I hope this isn’t just a one-time thing and that we can carry this into our next games,” Alinsunurin said.

Erika Santos debuted for Capital1 with 22 points. Bella Belen and Vanie Gandler had 15 points each, with the former tallying 15 receptions and 10 digs only for their revamped squad to lose their first game amid raised expectations.

Julia Coronel tossed 27 excellent sets on top of five points after transferring from Galeries Tower, while rookie Detdet Pepito had 24 digs.

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