Mission completed for Pons, Alas in hunt for SEA Video games gold

‘I actually manifested this gold,’ says Bernadeth Pons, a member of the Alas Pilipinas quartet that captured a historic ladies’s seaside volleyball crown for the Philippines within the Southeast Asian Video games

BANGKOK, Thailand – Profitable a Southeast Asian Video games gold medal is already gratifying by itself, however to do it towards a nation that had dominated for years proves a lot sweeter.

That’s how Bernadeth Pons feels as she, Sisi Rondina, Dij Rodriguez, and Sunnie Villapando captured a historic ladies’s seaside volleyball crown for the Philippines after dethroning eight-time champion Thailand within the last on the Jomtien Seashore in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday, December 19.

It marked the primary time Thailand did not rule the occasion after profitable all of its eight earlier stagings within the biennial showpiece.

“I actually manifested this gold. I imagined this second quite a lot of instances and I even cried at instances as a result of I used to be imagining this second. Manifestation actually works. However after all, there needs to be onerous work,” Pons stated in a mixture of English and Filipino.

To satisfy their golden desires, Pons and Rondina opted to take a break from their Premier Volleyball League careers as they turned their full consideration on their SEA Video games redemption.

Bronze medalists within the 2019 and 2021 editions, Pons and Rondina missed the rostrum in 2023 in Cambodia as they performed with completely different companions, however they teamed up once more this yr with hopes of rekindling their success collectively.

These selections paid dividends because the Alas Pilipinas quartet surprised a Thai aspect that went unbeaten within the round-robin preliminary, with each Pons-Rondina and Rodriguez-Villapando profitable their matches within the best-of-three title conflict.

“We knew it wasn’t simple. Thailand was the defending champion and that was one of many the reason why we selected to return to seaside as a result of we need to get again at them and make them cry in their very own land,” Pons stated.

“That is it. It already occurred. I’m so grateful to the Lord that he didn’t abandon us all all through our journey right here within the SEA Video games.” – Rappler.com