Rondina-Pons carries PH hopes in return to beach volley action
Sisi Rondina puts a premium on consistency as she and Bernadeth Pons make their beach volleyball comebacks with Alas Pilipinas in the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, starting Dec. 18 at Sport Arena Jomtien Beach in Chonburi.
Bronze medalists in the 2019 and 2021 editions, Rondina and Pons are determined to regain their place on the podium of the biennial meet after missing out on the bronze two years ago in Cambodia.
“Our main goal heading into the SEA Games is consistency on how we play,” Rondina told reporters in Filipino during the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) send-off on Saturday.
“Getting a podium finish would be a bonus, of course. But we’re aiming to stay consistent in every single game,” she went on. “Our mindset is that every game is a championship game for us.”
Rondina, a champion of Pro Beach Tour Futures in 2022, is returning to beach volleyball after a remarkable indoor comeback in the last two years that saw her win a PVL MVP with Choco Mucho while having Alas stints that resulted in bronze medals last year in the Nations Cup and SEA V.League.
Perfect Partner
Pons has also shone for Creamline, emerging as Reinforced Conference MVP last year while leading the Cool Smashers to a historic Grand Slam.
The tandem dubbed ‘SiPons’ had a fruitful eight-month preparation, training in Europe and competing in the prestigious Volleyball World Beach Volley Pro Tour Challenge. The duo missed a potential Cinderella run after falling to Switzerland’s Annique Niederhauser and Menia Bentele in the round of 24, 18-21, 24-22, 15-12, last October in Nuvali.
“During those eight months, we joined a lot of leagues. The highlight was when we competed in Europe,” Rondina said. “And of course, the Challenge event held here in the Philippines. That was huge for us. And now we’re really excited to play beach volleyball again in the SEA Games. We’re looking forward to getting good results.”
Rondina is also excited for two-time bronze medalist Dij Rodriguez and Filipino American debutant Sunny Villapando, believing they will deliver in the biennial meet.
Rondina and Pons ruled the PNVF Beach Volleyball Invitational after beating Villapando and Rodriguez in an all-Alas final, 11-21, 21-15, 15-6.
Meanwhile, Ran Abdilla, James Buytrago, Ronniel Rosales, Rancel Vargas and Edwin Tolentino headline the men’s delegation in their pursuit of a fourth straight podium finish.
