ALAS Pilipinas duo Vanie Gandler and Dawn Catindig made triumphant returns with Cignal in the 2025 PVL Invitational, racking up its first win in a 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19 rout of ZUS Coffee on Monday.
With that return came the news that the Nationals will still have to participate in thrice-a-week training sessions during the course of the PVL Reinforced Conference from October to November.
READ: Full force Cignal gets first Invitational win by outlasting Zus
While Gandler could only sigh at the thought of a hectic schedule to come, Catindig is optimistic that the national federation and the league will strike a healthy balance to cater to the best interests of the players.
“Lahat naman siguro kasi, napag-uusapan, siyempre. Both sides, Alas and Cignal, respect yung condition ng katawan ng athletes so perfect balance lang siguro talaga,” the Cignal libero said.
Player-slash-mentor duties for Vanie
As far as Gandler is concerned, who had six points in her PVL comeback, her focus in her time back with the HD Spikers revolves around being a mentor figure armed with international experience.
“The whole experience of playing in that level, I want to bring here what I learned,” Gandler said.
“Hopefully, my maturity, since I have more exposure now, I can bring that to the team and also teach them the little things I learned and the aggressiveness of being in the national team.”
It’s not about reinterpreting the fundamentals for Cignal but rather acting as a role model whose values and ethics on and off the court can translate to more mature and composed performances.
“My mindset isn’t to change them but make sure that I do what I have to do, not just in games, in practice, outside of practice, so that they see that we’re doing our jobs and this is what will help,” Gandler added.
“Yung aggressiveness sa court, that’s what I saw na hopefully I can teach the younger ones like Ishie. I got that din from my experience in being brave.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
