CIGNAL is taking a leave of absence from the PVL.
Just days after a silver-medal finish in the All-Filipino Conference, the Super Spikers announced they're taking a break from a league where they were perennial contenders since 2023, but never a champion.
Cignal follows Petro Gazz and Chery Tiggo as the latest franchise to depart the country's pioneering volleyball league in a span of half a year and follows their male counterparts who have also left the Spikers' Turf.
READ TIMELINE: Trio of PH volleyball champions gone in 2 months
Cignal’s exit from the PVL comes with a familiar tone.
The Super Spikers’ statement echoed the same rationale used by the franchise’s men’s team when it stepped away from Spikers’ Turf in January, citing an "internal assessment of the company’s future direction."
Still, the timing raises questions.
Cignal’s departure, alongside that of Petro Gazz, came just days after both squads wrapped up their respective PVL Finals campaigns, creating uneasy optics for a league five years into its professional era.
For all its success and stability, Cignal leaves as the PVL team with the most podium appearances to never win a championship, finishing runner-up three times and claiming five bronze medals since moving to the PVL in 2021.
The franchise, however, is no stranger to podium finishes.
Back in the Philippine Superliga (PSL), Cignal broke through as co-champion of the 2017 Invitational Conference, while also collecting three silver and three bronze finishes during its stint in the now-defunct league.
Home of superb talent
More than the hardware, it’s the names and legacy that define the Super Spikers’ run.
From veterans Rachel Daquis and Jovelyn Gonzaga to a younger generation bannered by Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos, among many others, Cignal consistently fielded competitive lineups.
On the sidelines, it was guided by respected tacticians such as the late Sammy Acaylar, George Pascua, Edgar Barroga, and Shaq delos Santos.
That body of work cements Cignal as one of the most storied franchises in Philippine volleyball history, even without a PVL title to its name.
For now, its absence leaves the PVL with nine active teams, as the league recalibrates heading into its next chapter.
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