CIGNAL didn’t just get a taste of victory at Nxled’s expense in Cebu -- it also felt the fans' love and energy all-match long.
READ: Cignal fights through heat, power outage in Cebu to stay spotless
HD Spikers stars in the likes of Vanie Gandler, Ces Molina, and Dawn Macandili-Catindig received rousing cheers from the 4,205-strong Saturday crowd at the Minglanilla Sports Complex.
And not even the venue’s humidity and mid-game power outage stopped the Cebuano faithful from raising the energy through the roof in the PVL’s very first trip to the province.
Such an atmosphere left Gandler stunned and in awe of the support that went her and the team’s way, even if she’s not a Cebu native.
“I’m really surprised, of course. I don’t really go to Cebu but I’m touched to see so many people support me here. It really inspires me and it was just so much fun to play in Cebu,” said Gandler.
“It really pushes me to do even better kasi one way or another, I know that I inspire people and entertain them.”
PVL fans know no distance
What surprised her even more is the mere presence of an HD Spikers fanbase miles away from Manila where, in Gandler’s view, they aren’t supported as much as they were in Cebu.
“[The Cebuano fans] really boosted our morale because in Manila, we don’t have these many people watching us. It was so touching to hear everyone cheering ‘let’s go Cignal, let’s go,’” said Gandler.
Even Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos was taken aback by the immense Cebuano support that was just as warm, or maybe even warmer, than the venue itself.
“Sobrang happy kami kasi grabe, ang daming tao. ‘Yung crowd ng Cignal, both teams, sobrang nakakataba ng puso at nakaka-overwhelm. Masarap maglaro kapag ganito yung crowd at napapasaya namin sila,” delos Santos said.
“Thankful din kami kasi sobrang love na love nila ‘yung volleyball.”
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