WITH nothing else but victory in mind, Golden Tigress Cherry Rondina defied expectations after landing on third place in the first-ever Queen of the Sands beach volleyball tournament last June 20 at the SM Mall of Asia By the Bay Sand Court.
The rookie volleybelle scored 53 points in the final round, only one point shy for second place, behind Foton Tornadoes’ Patty Orendain. Another Tornadoes standout, Fiola Ceballos, grabbed the title with 63 points.
“Kapag naglalaro ako, hindi ko iniisip ‘yung rank at level ko,” the UAAP beach volleyball champion told the Varsitarian. “Basta maipanalo ko ‘yung game.”
It was the first time in the tournament for players to play against and alongside each other. Individual scores were then averaged, with the four highest players advancing to the final round.
After the preliminary round, Rondina led the pack, garnering an average of 20.28 points before eventually settling for third place.
Rondina said she that she discovered a new perspective in playing beach volleyball, which should help her in upcoming UAAP title defense.
“‘Yung pagkamasayahin [ang wala sa akin]. Sobrang seryoso kasi akong maglaro, gusto kong manalo agad,” she said. “‘Yung [ pag-enjoy sa game] ang natutuhan ko noon na naa-apply ko ngayon sa practice.” John Chester P. Fajardo
