Gold beckons Pons, Rondina

I treat every training as if it is a championship game.

BERNADETH Pons and Sisi Rondina will banner the country in the beach volleyball event of the 30th SEA Games.

The Philippine beach volleyball squad is eyeing a podium finish when the country hosts the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games from 30 November to 11 December.

After finishing fifth in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur, beach volleyball head coach John Paul Doloiras believes that the tandem of Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons is capable of pocketing at least a bronze medal in the prestigious biennial meet.

“The players that we have in the lineup are strategically chosen and all of them have the potential of helping the country clinch a medal,” said Doloiras, a four-time University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champion for University of Santo Tomas (UST), during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum yesterday at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

“I can say that, during our trainings, the players are really giving out their best so the country will have a good run during the SEA Games,” he added.

Rondina and Pons will banner the campaign of the beach volleyball team along with the pair of Dzi Gervacio and Floremel Gutierrez in the women’s category.

In the men’s side, Jude Garcia and Edgar Bonono team up for the biennial meet while Anthony Lemuel Arbasto and James Buytrago comprised the second squad.

“I treat every training as if it is a championship game. I always give my best whether it’s an indoor (game) or beach volleyball,” said Rondina, who led UST to four straight beach volleyball titles in the UAAP.

“Every game, we will just give our best. It is what we are working hard for every day. Our trainings are very laborious as it is really hard to play in the sands and under the sun,” added Pons, a standout from Far Eastern University.