PLAYING in a bubble environment is nothing new for Creamline beach volleyball ace Sisi Rondina.
“It’s about familiarity playing in a bubble, without audience,” said Rondina, who will paired with long-time partner Bernadeth Pons at Creamline 1 in the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour’s first of two legs in Santa Ana, Cagayan, on Friday.
“It’s about staying focused on our goal,” she said.
Rondina and Pons donned the country’s colors at the Asian Volleyball Confederation Continental Cup, a qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics last June in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
The BVR on Tour is part of Rondina and Pons’s preparations, along with the other national team members, for the Asian Seniors Beach Volleyball Championship set from November 23 to 27 in Phuket, Thailand.
Rondina and Pons are among the 13 women’s pairs vying in the first leg tour which marks BVR’s return after a two-year hiatus. There are also 11 men’s squads in the event where matches start at 8 a.m.
The second leg will be played on October 28-31 at the same Santa Ana venue.
“This tournament is all about another learning experience. We are happy that BVR is back,” said Rondina, who won the tour’s last leg in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, with Pons in September 2019.
A bronze medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and a three-time BVR champion, Rondina knows that being fan favorites with Pons will not result to another instant title.
Also competing in the women’s division are Creamline 2’s Dzi Gervacio and Dij Rodriguez, PLDT’s Ella and Nieza Viray, TM’s Mer Jauculan and Hannah Cabansay, Biogenic Alcohol’s Roma Joy Doromal and Heather Guino-o, Toyota-Tuguegarao’s Nicole Tiamzon and Jho Maraguinot, Eastern Perlas Spikers’ Michelle Morente and Jules Samonte, Black Mamba Army 1’s Nene Bautista and Jeannie Delos Reyes, Black Mamba Army 2’s Jem Gutierrez and Audrey Paran, Good Health CDO’s Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor, Sta. Lucia 1’s Jackie Estoquia and DM Demontaño, Sta. Lucia 2’s Bang Pineda and Glaudine Troncoso and Delimondo’s MJ Ebro and Bianca Lizares.
Seeing action in the men’s side are Creamline 1’s Jaron Requinton and Ranran Abdilla, Creamline 2’s Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto, Creamline 3’s Pemie Bagalay and Jeffer Guerrero, PLDT’s Rancel Varga and Efraem Dimaculangan, Tuguegarao’s AJ Pareja and James Pecaña, EVI Construction’s KR Guzman and Jeremiah Barrica, Army-FSD Makati 1’s Randy Fallorina and Jason Uy, Army-FSD Makati 2’s Joel Villonson and Joshua Barrica, DeliRush 1’s Evan Laraya and Julius Sioson, DeliRush 2’s Joven Camaganakan and Rhenze Hu and Negros Occidental Beach Volleyball Club’s Deanne Neil de Pedro and Eljhay Ronquillo.
The BVR on Tour Santa Ana is supported by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation and streamed live on the Puso Pilipinas and Smart Sports Facebook pages and YouTube channels.