CIGNAL may have kept a relatively low profile during the offseason, but the Super Spikers are quickly making their presence felt in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Fresh off a tough five-set loss to Akari, Cignal bounced back in dominant fashion by sweeping ZUS Coffee, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22, on Thursday at the Playtime Filoil Centre to strengthen its case as one of the early title contenders.
The victory allowed the Super Spikers to remain atop the standings with a 5-2 record, while the still-struggling Thunderbelles slid to the bottom of the table with a 1-6 slate.
Cignal and Zus Coffee figured in a tight start in the opening set before the Super Spikers gradually pulled away midway through the frame to draw first blood and establish control of the match.
The Thunderbelles attempted to respond in the second set, building an early 11-8 lead, but Cignal quickly erased the deficit as Vanie Gandler sparked a rally that forced a 15-all deadlock.
Both teams exchanged points down the stretch, but the Super Spikers eventually seized control behind back-to-back points from Gel Cayuna to move within a set of the victory.
Cignal, however, had to fend off a late fightback in the third set as Zus Coffee managed to keep pace all the way to a 21-all deadlock.
The Super Spikers then delivered the decisive push, unleashing a 4-1 closing run capped by a Gandler attack to finally seal the straight-sets victory.
With the way the Super Spikers have been performing so far, the once-quiet offseason squad is now emerging as one of the teams to beat in the conference.
Super Spikers Stay The Course
“Kasi sobrang mabigat para sa amin yung pagkatalo na yun. But, ang good thing kasi yung paano mag-bounce back yung mga players namin. And actually, naaral talaga namin, especially sila,” said head coach Shaq Delos Santos.
“Tinitingnan talaga nila yung mga adjustment na kailangan gawin. And, ayun lang, sobrang happy kasi yun yung number one solution para makarecover ulit kami sa pagkatalo. And, good thing, ang ganda nung naging performance,” he added.
Vanie Gandler spearheaded the Super Spikers with 20 points through 18 attacks, and two blocks while Rose Doria-Aquino also chipped in 11 markers.
“We know that no one is safe even though we started the conference strong. We know that we're not safe because everyone has wins, everyone has losses,” Gandler uttered.
“Now's not the time for us to relax. So, every practice, we're really doing our best to stay aggressive and to keep improving from all our mistakes.”
Chinnie Arroyo and Thea Gagate wounded up with 11 points respectively for the Thunderbelles.
Cignal aim to continue their strong campaign against the Capital1 on March 14 while Zus Coffee is looking to find their rhythm as they will face NxLed on March 12 at the same venue.
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