SUBIC - Sisi Rondina, together with her teammates and a slew of Filipino fans, erupted in cheers as Indonesia swept Vietnam at the converted Subic Tennis Court here on Friday.
That's because the Philippines needed Indonesia to beat Vietnam to secure the bronze medal in 30th Southeast Asian Games women's beach volleyball.
The team of Heidi Ilustre and Diane Pascua, which won the bronze mint in 2005, was the last Filipino squad to bag a medal in the regional meet.
"We're really happy to get a medal because the last time the country did was in 2005," said Pons after the rousing victory before a capacity crowd.
Earlier, the Philippines blanked Singapore, 2-0. After the match, the team proceeded to the other court to root for Indonesian volleybelles, who were already assured of a silver medal even before the match against Vietnam.
Thailand snared the gold in the tournament which made a return after an eight-year absence. Indonesia nabbed the silver medal.
Rondina and Bernadeth Pons set the tone for the country's conquest of Singapore with a 21-17, 21-13. Dzi Gervacio and Dij Rodriguez followed it up with a 21-18, 21-16 victory over crowd darling Eliza Chong and Gladys Lee of Singapore 2.
"Our goal is really to win a medal. We showed the other countries what we FIlipinos can do," said Rondina in Filipino.
Meanwhile, the men's beach volleyball team made history by winning the bronze medal - the first in history for the team.
The duo of Jaron Requinton and Jude Garcia salvaged the medal for the hosts with a 25-23, 21-13 victory in the golden match.
James Buytrago and Requinton dropped the first game against Singapore 1, but the tandem of Edmar Bonono and Garcia forced a deciding match with a dominant 21-14, 21-14 win over Singapore's Nicholas Kiu and Ray Meng Trevis Tan.
It was a nip-and-tuck opening set in the third match, but Garcia and Requinton finally flexed their muscles in the second to seal the rousing victory.