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UAAP: Advantage Pons in final showdown against Rondina

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/03/17/pons-rondina-1-2018-2018-031618.jpg"/><figcaption>FEU&#x27;s Bernadeth Pons and UST&#x27;s Sisi Rondina shake hands during a break in action in their UAAP Season 80 game. <em>Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines – One of the most underrated rivalries in the UAAP quietly closed a chapter on Wednesday, when Far Eastern University&#x27;s Bernadeth Pons and University of Santo Tomas&#x27; Sisi Rondina faced off for the last time as collegiate players.</p><p>The graduating Pons was triumphant in her final game against her longtime rival and good friend, tallying 15 points, 18 digs, and eight receptions in FEU&#x27;s 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 victory. It was another workmanlike effort for Pons in a UAAP career that has been full of them.</p><p>Rondina, meanwhile, was limited to 11 points, matching a season-low. The league&#x27;s leading scorer, Rondina has been nothing less than valiant for UST in Season 80, as she has almost single-handedly made the Tigresses competitive in the tournament.</p><p>Pons exchanged a hug with Rondina at the end of the game, and tried to offer some words of comfort. She could see how frustrated her friend was, and felt sympathy for the UST star even as she relished in their triumph over the Tigresses.</p><p>&quot;Actually noong third set na, parang paiyak na siya. Kasi tinitingnan ko siya, naaawa ako, naaawa ako,&quot; said Pons, who is trying to lead FEU to a UAAP title in her final season. &quot;Kasi parang siyempre gusto niya ring manalo.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Pero sabi ko, hindi pwede, kasi gusto natin &#x27;to, gusto namin manalo,&quot; she added. &quot;Sabi ko, hindi, tatapusin na namin ito, sabi kong ganun.&quot;</p><p>In that third set, Pons took matters into her own hands. Rondina, perhaps the single most exciting spiker in the UAAP today, had scored four of UST&#x27;s last six points to force a 23-all deadlock. The UST crowd was stirring to life, anticipating a fourth set.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sisi Rondina shows no remorse for the double block! Oh my! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAAPSeason80Volleyball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAAPSeason80Volleyball</a> <a href="https://t.co/ka3VP5FgcP">pic.twitter.com/ka3VP5FgcP</a></p>— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/abscbnsports/status/973853575221661696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Pons responded by smashing a spike off the UST blockers to send the Lady Tamaraws to match point. It was perhaps not as thrilling as the ultra-sharp crosscourt attack that Rondina had unleashed a rally before, but it got the job done. Young middle blocker Czarina Carandang completed the task by firing an ace to win the game.</p><p>&quot;Friendly competition ito,&quot; said Pons after the game. &quot;Kung ano &#x27;yung goal ng team namin, &#x27;yun ang gagawin namin.&quot;</p><p>After that, however, she went out of her way to comfort Rondina, whose team has now lost five straight matches. Their teams are going in wildly different directions in Season 80; FEU looks to be on track for the Final 4, and UST is on the brink of elimination from the playoff race.</p><p>&quot;Oo, bineso ko siya kasi &#x27;yun nga sunod-sunod na (&#x27;yung talo),&quot; Pons said. &quot;Tapos lalo na nu&#x27;ng last game, umiyak talaga sila.&quot;</p><div><strong>Underrated rivalry</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/03/17/pons-rondina-2-2018-2018-031618.jpg"/><figcaption>The rivalry between Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons grew from their many battles in beach volleyball. <em>File/Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Pons and Rondina&#x27;s rivalry has mostly flown under the radar in the UAAP. It burns brighter during the beach volleyball season, as the two open spikers have proven to be two of the best sand players in the country in the past couple of years.</p><p>In the sand, Rondina reigns supreme over Pons. UST and FEU have contested the UAAP beach volleyball title for the past two years, and the Tigresses triumphed in both instances. Indeed, Rondina has towed UST to beach volleyball gold three times in the last four seasons, winning the MVP each time. Pons, meanwhile, has settled for runner-up honors for three seasons in a row.</p><p>The taraflex is another matter entirely. There, Rondina cannot impose her will as easily as she does on the beach. In Season 77 – her rookie year, and Pons&#x27; sophomore season – Rondina was mostly used as a reserve, UST&#x27;s energizer bunny off the bench. That year, UST swept FEU in the elimination round, only for the Lady Tamaraws to win a playoff for the last semifinals spot.</p><p>FEU turned the tables on UST in Season 78, in what would be Rondina&#x27;s first season as a featured player. The Lady Tamaraws won both of their games en route to a Final 4 appearance. They switched roles again in Season 79; this time, it was Rondina&#x27;s Tigresses that swept Pons and the Lady Tamaraws.</p><p>Along the way, Rondina and Pons established themselves as two of the best open hitters in the UAAP, and two of the most versatile. Pons would regularly put up triple-doubles – double-digit points, digs, and receptions – and Rondina was not be too far behind.</p><p>Season 80 has seen the high-flier from Cebu become the best scorer in the league. Rondina has already put up 176 points in nine games, and regularly wows the UAAP audience with her incredible leaping ability and spiking power. There is no sight more thrilling than Rondina gearing up for her running start, elevating, then unloading her strength for an attack.</p><p>Pons, as has been the case for most of her career, has taken a backseat in terms of fan attention. Early on in her career, she was in the shadow of Ateneo superstar Alyssa Valdez, then more recently, to UST&#x27;s EJ Laure and even Ateneo&#x27;s Jhoana Maraguinot. Now, in her final season, it is her good friend Rondina who is in the limelight. </p><p>Yet a look at the statistics shows how dominant Pons has been in her final year: she is averaging 13 points a game, is ninth in the league in spiking (29.76%), third in digging (3.56 per set), and third in receiving (47.17%). It is possible that the Negros Occidental native is the most complete women&#x27;s volleyball player in the country right now.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bernadeth Pons went through the UST block like it as nothing! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAAPSeason80Volleyball?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAAPSeason80Volleyball</a> <a href="https://t.co/83tF1KXA3f">pic.twitter.com/83tF1KXA3f</a></p>— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/abscbnsports/status/973852286060392448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2018</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>In FEU&#x27;s two wins against UST in Season 80, Pons has been a factor in Rondina&#x27;s low scoring output. After four seasons of playing against the &quot;Cherry Bomb,&quot; Pons is well aware of Rondina&#x27;s tendencies, and is ready to spend five sets defending and digging up her spikes, if necessary.</p><p>&quot;Challenging talaga (si Rondina),&quot; said Pons. &quot;Pero kahit sino naman na makakalaban namin. Accept the challenge, ganoon ang attitude ko.&quot;</p><div><strong>&#x27;Hindi nakabawi&#x27;</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/03/17/pons-rondina-3-2018-2018-031618.jpg"/><figcaption>Pons and Rondina teamed up to dominate the PSL Beach Volleyball tournament last year. <em>Courtesy of the Philippine Superliga Facebook page.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Rondina, understandably, was reluctant to speak much following UST&#x27;s loss to FEU. It sent the Tigresses stumbling further down the standings; right now, they are last in the league – lower even than perennial cellar-dweller University of the East.</p><p>Asked about her final UAAP game against Pons, Rondina could only express her regret that they were unable to avenge their first round loss.</p><p>&quot;Hindi man lang namin nabawi &#x27;yung talo namin noong first round,&quot; she rued.</p><p>&quot;Siguro mabawian namin (ang FEU) next season, kasi wala na siya next season.&quot;</p><p>Rondina will not get a chance to one-up Pons again in the UAAP, and it is unsure if she can do so in the semi-professional leagues, either. After all, she and Pons belong to the same club team – Petron. Just last year they teamed up to rule the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup.</p><p>Indeed, the next chapter of Rondina and Pons&#x27; shared history might not be as rivals, but teammates. They are expected to join forces for Petron after the UAAP, and both are hopeful that they can get the chance to represent the country in international beach volleyball tournaments as well — perhaps even in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which the country will host.</p><p>&quot;Naiisip naman namin &#x27;yun,&quot; said Pons, who already teamed up with Rondina in the Southeast Asian Beach Volleyball Championships in September of 2017.</p><p>The prospect of playing together with Rondina is something that thrills Pons. As much as she enjoys their match-ups — from the sands to the taraflex — there is also something special in teaming up with the fiery, intense UST star. They already showed it last year, when they swept the PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup without dropping a single set.</p><p>As Pons herself put it, while grinning from ear to ear: &quot;Matagal pa kaming magsasama ni Sisi.&quot;</p><p>(For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.)</p>

<p>Whether rivals or teammates, Bernadeth Pons and Sisi Rondina share a bond that transcends their sport.</p>

Whether rivals or teammates, Bernadeth Pons and Sisi Rondina share a bond that transcends their sport.

UAAP: Advantage Pons in final showdown against Rondina

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UAAP: Advantage Pons in final showdown against Rondina

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 17, 2018 05:56 AM PHT

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Updated December 04, 2018 09:35 AM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

UAAP Season 80

UAAP volleyball

FEU Lady Tamaraws

UST Tigresses

Bernadeth Pons

Sisi Rondina

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