Sisi Rondina apologizes after SB19 comments

Alas Pilipinas player Sisi Rondina has issued an apology after her comments about SB19 received backlash from fans of the group.

The volleyball ace took to Instagram in a live video to explain her comments at an Independence Day program in South Korea on Sunday where she said she wasn’t familiar with the P-pop group while on stage.

“Ano daw yung pinakainaantay namin sa Independence program dito sa Korea. Eh nandoon kasi si SB19. Personally hindi ko talaga sila… hindi ko alam ba,” she said on the live video.

[We were asked what we were most anticipating during the Independence Day program here in Korea. SB19 was there. Personally, I really didn’t know who they were.]

Her comments saying she didn’t know the group sparked an feud online between SB19 fans A’TIN, some of whom were critical of the athlete, and supporters of Philippine volleyball.

“So yun, daming na-offend siguro. Sorry talaga, I’m really sorry,” she said.

[So I think a lot of people were offended. Sorry, really. I’m really sorry.]

Members of SB19, however, asked fans not to spread hate to fellow Filipinos.

“Our goal as a team since we started hasn’t changed: I-angat ang kulturang Pinoy sa global stage (To uplift Filipino culture on the global stage),” Pablo of SB19 said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

“Respect and acknowledge na hindi lahat ng tao, aware or kilala ang grupo namin. Hindi rin sa lahat ng oras, everyone will hold a favorable opinion of us. THAT'S FINE! There's no reason to spread hate, disrespect or drag down our fellow Filipinos,” he added.

[Let's respect and acknowledge that not everybody is aware or knows our group. We won't have the favorable opinion of everybody all the time. And that's fine! There is no reason to spread hate, disrespect, or drag down our fellow Filipinos.]

Rondina recently won a bronze medal as part of the Alas Pilipinas team in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News