It was like deja vu: exiting the volleyball court while trying to evade the white confetti that rained out on the court and hearing the crowd’s celebratory cheers that, sad to say, were not for them.

For the second straight time, the Choco Mucho Flying Titans fell short in their bid for a breakthrough title in the Premier Volleyball League – no thanks to the Creamline Cool Smashers.

But there was nothing to be ashamed of the defeat as far as Sisi Rondina was concerned.

“Wala kaming pinagsisisihan sa performance namin,” said Rondina moments after the Flying Titans lost in Game 2 of their best-of-three finals series in the All-Filipino Conference late Sunday, May 12.

“Alam kong lahat ng mga pangyayari, may rason. Sinabi ko sa teammates ko, kung matalo man tayo, huwag nating ibigay nang basta-basta. Nakita naman yun sa game ngayon. Hindi namin ibinigay ng madali sa kanila,” the high-flying spiker added.

It was a rematch of last conference’s finals, with Choco Mucho seeking to write a different narrative but no avail.

They ended up bridesmaid once again.

Their determination was evident during the course of the conference, overcoming adversities despite losing key players like Kat Tolentino, Aduke Ogunsanya and Des Cheng to injuries.

Despite these challenges, they still topped the semis by winning all three matches in the round-robin phase including a five-set match against Creamline.

But the Cool Smashers rediscovered their form right in time and bulldozed their way back to the finals largely due to their championship pedigree.

True enough, they flashed their mightiest in the best-of-three title series, especially in the title-clinching Game 2.

While they failed again, Rondina said their desire to win that elusive title remains strong.

“Lagi kong sinasabi sa teammates ko, kahit noong UST days ko pa, magtiwala at maniwala. Huwag na huwag tayong tumigil na mangarap kasi dadating at dadating din yung time na para sa atin,” Rondina said.

“Lahat yan may rason. Hihintayin namin yan. Kung hindi man para sa aming yung championship ngayon, alam ko sa future meron,” she added.