Sisi Sizzles!

MANILA, Philippines — She’s been given the monicker “Cherry Bomb,” this pint-sized volleyball star who never ceases to amaze with her explosiveness, insane leaping ability and thunderous spikes.

But more than her A-1 skills on the taraflex and sandcourt, University of Santo Tomas’ petite captain Cherry Ann “Sisi” Rondina has endeared herself to teammates, opponents and casual fans alike with her big heart and indomitable spirit in overcoming tremendous odds.

As she took a final bow in the collegiate ranks, the five-foot-six Cebuana was showered with love from virtually everywhere.

“Hindi mo mapapalitan ang isang Sisi Rondina (Sisi is irreplaceable),” said UST coach Kungfu Reyes of Rondina, the Season 81 Most Valuable Player who willed to bring the Golden Tigresses to the finals and restore relevance for a proud school that’s not had it so good in recent years.

“There are players that will be remembered for the championships they won but there are also players that will be remembered because they gave everything they had for the love of the game. Sisi Rondina is one of them,” posted the UAAP-NCAA Meme in a tribute.  

Actress Kim Chiu, a confessed Rondina fan, took to Twitter to give props to her idol after UST fell short in beating Ateneo for the UAAP crown.

UST captain Cherry “Sisi” Rondina faces Ateneo during the recent UAAP volleyball championships.

“Naiiyak ako kay Sisi!!! Di ko naman siya kilala personally but I followed her journey in the UAAP!!! Grabe ang puso!!! Lalo today!!! She did everything kaso kulang pa rin. Congrats Sisi Rondina, you are a true legend!! Puso and determination! (My heart bleeds for Sisi. I don’t know her personally but I followed her UAAP career. What heart! Especially today. She did everything but it wasn’t enough. She’s a true legend! Heart and determination).”

Bea de Leon of triumphant Ateneo joined those who declared much respect for the Queen Tigress.

“She made everything so much harder,” admitted de Leon. “I just wanted to let her know that this (finals loss) shouldn’t define her career and what she accomplished. Imagine, she’s five-foot-six, but that talent, that heart – and she led her team here. She worked for it for five years and she wasn’t even supposed to be (playing) indoor (volleyball), right? Grabe siya (She’s amazing)!”  

It ended in heartache and tears but Rondina felt joy in her heart seeing her young teammates earning their stripes as they fought for glory.

“Sobrang saya ko kasi e-exit ako na masarap ang feeling pa rin kasi nakapag-finals ako and thankful ako sa mga bata, actually hindi lang sila mga bata, naging players sila na may gustong patunayan and they did (I’m leaving UST feeling great because I experienced playing in the finals and I’m thankful to the youngsters who blossomed into players highly-determined to prove their worth),” she said.

“And yun nga, kahit hindi namin nakuha yung goal, still we’re proud kasi alam namin ginawa namin ang best namin (Even though we fell short of our goal, we’re still proud because we gave it our best),” she added.

Coach Kungfu Reyes said the Queen Tigress’ greatest legacy is affecting change in the outlook of the team that was dwelling in the bottom before this.

Sisi is a four-time UAAP beach volleyball MVP.

And that, for him, is worth gold.

“Galing na rin kay Sisi, sya mismo nagsabi, kung di man tayo mag-champion, pero mabago natin ang playing attitude natin, yung legacy na iiwan niya, yun ang gusto niya (Coming from Sisi herself, she told her teammates, if we can change our playing attitude, that’s worth the championship for her),” said Reyes.

“Sabi niya, di ko bibigyan ng bigat kung di man tayo mag-champion, aalis ako dito na nabago ang thinking ng team, yung character ng team which is yun nga ang nakita niya. Sabi niya, champion na kayo niyan kasi ang attittude, character and all, yun ang gusto niyang baguhin kasi mga bata nga (She told them she won’t beat herself up if we fail to get the championship but seeing how the team’s thinking, the team’s character improved, she told them ‘you’re champions already’),” he recalled.

“Hindi ba last year, walang wala? Yun ang tumatak sa isip niya, yung character ng mga batang papasok made-develop. Nadala naman, nagkatalo lang talaga sa dulo. Yun ang iiwan niya, mabago ang thinking ng players na papasok (Last year, we were so down so she wanted to change that, develop the team’s character because that will be her legacy).”

MVP in life

The indefatigable open spiker is perseverance personified.

Born to a poor family in Compostela, Cebu, Sisi related there was even a time when the family had to eat spoiled rice in their nipa hut just to get by. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, she used this as motivation to strive hard to make their life better.

What the five-foot-six open spiker lacks in height she makes up for in heart and amazing agility. STAR Photos by JOEY MENDOZA

“Sabi ko sa sarili ko, hindi na ito mauulit. Dahil dito magpu-push talaga ako para hindi na kami maghirap at makatapos kami ng pag-aaral (I told myself I won’t let this happen again. I will push hard to lift us from poverty and to finish school),” Rondina said in a 2018 television interview.

Rondina, who took the nickname “Sisi” from the Visayan term for her favorite small oyster, found volleyball as the avenue to achieve her dreams.

Originally into running, Rondina got into volleyball initially as leisure. She eventually passed a tryout in elementary and made the team and volleyball became an addiction.

Rondina’s star started to shine in the Palarong Pambansa, helping her get a college scholarship in Manila and through her hard work, made it big in beach volleyball, scooping up four MVPs in the sandcourt to lead UST to as many championships.

Despite her height – five feet six inches – Rondina did good as she crossed over into indoor volleyball.

It wasn’t as successful as beach volley, though, as UST and Rondina failed to get past the elims thrice, finished third one time before finally landing in the gold medal series on her fifth year with her MVP performance.

Club powerhouse Petron Blaze took notice and signed up Rondina, who netted two beach volleybal plums and a couple more in indoor in the Philippine Superliga.

With her earnings, Rondina was able to buy a house in her hometown, help her siblings finish school and convince her mother to return home for good after spending 14 years working in Brunei.

“Nagpapasalamat talaga ako sa lahat ng nangyari sa buhay ko, ups and downs, good and bad, sila nakapag-grant ng gusto ko. Kumpleto pamil-ya ko, check. Nakapagbigay ng bahay, check. Nakapagtapos mga kapatid ko, check. Yun lang goal ko dati, ngayon more than enough pa para ma-bigyan ng ganitong opportunity (I’m thankful for all the things that happened to me, up or down, good or bad. They helped me achieve my goals. Our family is complete again, bought a house, helped my siblings finish school. I’m so grateful to be given this opportunity),” she said.

Her life is so inspiring that it could be a moving episode in the popular TV program “Maalaala Mo Kaya” (MMK).

“OMG, OMG! Andaming gustong  magpa-MMK sa buhay ko (There’s a a clamor for my lifestory on MMK),” she said. “I’m thankful na gusto nilang marinig ang buhay ko. Sana if ever lang makatulong iyon and maka-inspire (If it pushes through, I hope it can help and inspire viewers).”

Triumphant exit

Her last appearance on the court officially ended with a loss but there’s no doubt she came out a winner. 

As tears flowed and the agony of defeat sank in, team captain Rondina gathered the Tigresses for one final pep talk. 

“In summary, sinabi ko lang sa mga bata (I told the young ones to) love UST the way I loved UST,” she shared.

So much so that five playing years weren’t enough for her.

“Ayaw ko nga talaga, dapat 10 years na lang ang playing years, para pagdating ng eighth, pagod na ako, mga ganon ba (I didn’t want to leave, they should have made it 10 playing years),” she said, smiling. 

“Kaya lang sabi nga ng kanta, may dulo ang langit (she started singing) kaya’t sabay sabay tayong bibitaw sa ating huling laro (But as the song goes, there’s an end to everything).”

The overwhelming support from the loud and proud UST community is something she will miss the most.

“Though hindi namin nabigay ang korona sa España, at least na-feel ko na paano maglaro sa finals and behind yun is your UST community na talagang golden sea ba, parang nasa dagat ka ng yellow, sarap na feeling. Sana hindi mawala iyun (The UST community was there behind us, making it a sea of yellow. It’s so nice to see that, hopefully it continues),” she said.

Rondina was thankful to UST supporters for chipping in to make her family’s trip to Manila possible to watch live as she received the MVP plum before Game Two.

Sisi and the Tigresses, though, failed to clinch the crown that day.

“Palagay ko saksi nila hindi man namin nakuha yung korona (Even though they didn’t see us get the crown), still I’m thankful and proud kasi sa sarili ko, sino ba naman ako para maging ganito, ganern (because who am I anyway)? Malabo pero ngayon na-realize ko na wala pala talagang imposible pag trinabaho mo lahat (Now I realize that nothing’s impossible if you work hard),” she said.

Rondina’s hard work and determination were properly rewarded. 

In Season 81, she achieved the rare feat of winning both the beach volleyball and indoor volleyball MVP awards, becoming the first to claim the two plums in a single season since Wendy Semana of Far Eastern U 11 years before.

And as the UAAP closed the 2018-2019 season, it bestowed on the fifth-year open spiker the coveted Athlete of the Year plum in the team sports category.

With a stellar UAAP career wrapped up, what’s next for the Cherry Bomb?

Of course, there’s still her duties with Petron (for indoor volleyball) and the national team (for beach volleyball).

Volleyball certainly won’t stop for her.

The graduating Bachelor of Physical Education-Sports Wellness management student shared what she wants to do outside of volleyball.

“Sabi ko kila Father, gusto kong mag-aral uli, gusto kong mag-teach baga. Sabi niya sige, mag-aral ka ulit (I told the priests at UST I want to study again because I want to teach. They said go ahead).”