MANILA, Philippines – Securing conference MVP honors, SISI Rondina led Choco Mucho to its inaugural Finals trip during her thrilling indoor volleyball comeback and her debut Premier Volleyball League (PVL) season.

With an eye toward another championship chase, Rondina candidly told SPIN.ph that she doesn’t hold herself to exacting standards or set strict goals.

Rather, the key lies in relying on her natural “desire to acquire knowledge and succeed,” which has propelled her throughout the course of her career in both her beachside and indoor professions.
“In fact, I do not possess any concentration, and for this reason, every single time whenever I practice by myself. Instead, whether I play, I do not possess everything in mind except to accomplish what my coworkers said I acquired with Trainer Kungfu (Reyes sa UST), practice and speak as always,” Rondina replied.

“I don’t possess any expectations. you know those I am wanting every season — of obviously to acquire knowledge eager to come out on top, anything has a magnificent conclusion with that kind of approach.,” she stated.

Sad yet inevitable departures

Bea De Leon and Denden Lazaro-Revila, two Choco Mucho mainstays, both defected to their sister club, reigning champion Creamline, causing the largest player Rigodon the league has ever seen, just weeks after the Flying Titans rose to finish in second place in the 2023 All-Filipino Championship in December.
Rondina acknowledged that these were high-profile decisions and respected them completely, but she did confess that she was disappointed by their abrupt exits after they had shared the club’s inaugural PVL podium.

The newly crowned league MVP, who has been working on one major area of improvement during the winter to hone her already devastating technique and performance before the Choco Mucho volleyball team launches their championship campaign, has identified what she plans to accomplish in order to better her game prior to the 2024 PVL season begins on February 20.

Meanwhile, Strong Group assigned Onyok Getigan as coach of their “first-timers” team.

Strong Group Athletics (SGA), a newcomer to the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), has assigned veteran coach Onyok Getigan to lead a group of “first-timers.”

A day before the league’s deadline for roster submissions, team managers CK Canapi-Daniolco and assistant Kiara Cruz revealed some details about the squad’s college-heavy lineup, despite the fact that nothing is known about the SGA team’s makeup.

“Basically, we have decided on basically our players for the season. To the extent achievable, let’s not necessarily have unreasonable expectations yet considering all of the players we’ve got are fundamentally first-time visitors in the league. With any luck along with the process, we’re going to live according to our designation as a Durable Group,” Canapi-Daniolco stated.

Before assuming leadership of the Adamson Baby Falcons in UAAP girls’ volleyball, Getigan was a constant in the Philippine volleyball scene, having won three gold medals at the Palarong Pambansa.
As SGA starts assembling its all-new, young player-heavy team from the bottom up, Cruz aims to create an “expectations-free” environment under the direction of Frank Lao, the organization’s founder, and owner, who has been nothing but helpful in providing young players with opportunities to play.

“I think, just like a very new team of nature, boss Frank (Lao) primarily wants to present them a chance for these adolescents to play. We aren’t interested in any expectations compared to them for the reason they’re an extremely poor freshly formed team. Very just starting out. Farming requires Fresh, this is a starting-out team. No personal information as in. maybe one of you guys knows, we merely want them to be given a possibility [to play],” Cruz said.