Vanie Gandler relishes Cignal’s breakthrough win against rival Creamline

For Cignal, beating Creamline was never just about one match. It was about finally breaking through in the kind of game that had repeatedly slipped away from the Super Spikers in the past.

On Thursday night, that burden was still there, but this time it did not define the ending. Instead, Vanie Gandler turned those painful memories into motivation and helped power Cignal to a breakthrough 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 17-15 victory to clinch a semifinal berth in the 2026 PVL All-Filipino Conference.

It was more than just a win. For a team that had endured too many close losses in crucial moments, it felt like a release.

Cignal had already experienced this exact kind of heartbreak before, especially against Creamline. Just five days earlier, the Super Spikers had dropped another painful five-set match to the Cool Smashers to close the preliminaries, making Thursday’s rematch feel even heavier.

That recent loss, along with others before it, stayed with Vanie Gandler heading into the match.

“We know how painful it is to lose our crucial games. We’ve been through it so many times,” she said during the post-game press conference.

“So, I think that’s what we all always hold in our hearts, and we use that as our motivation to really fight with one another.”

That mindset showed when the match began to tighten. Even as Creamline made its expected late push, Cignal stayed composed and refused to unravel in another high-pressure finish.

At the center of that steadiness was Gandler, who once again showed that her value goes far beyond scoring. She finished with 22 points, 28 excellent receptions, and 13 digs, delivering one of her most complete performances of the conference.

Whether it was stabilizing the floor, keeping rallies alive, or scoring in key stretches, Gandler remained at the heart of everything Cignal was trying to do.

She also had plenty of help. Erika Santos provided the scoring punch with 26 points, while Gel Cayuna expertly ran the offense with 35 excellent sets and added 11 points of her own.

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LOUD AND CLEAR

Erika Santos, Vanie Gandler and Dawn Catindig played the games of their lives and sealed Cignal’s entry to the semifinals against Creamline in the qualifying round.#PVL2026 @spinph pic.twitter.com/0mycXeQ9FI

— John Mark Garcia (@johnmarkdg_) March 26, 2026

Together, they gave Cignal the balance and poise it has often searched for in pressure games against top-level opponents.

The win became even more impressive considering the setting. The Smart Araneta Coliseum crowd heavily favored Creamline, but Gandler said the atmosphere barely registered once the match settled into its tense rhythm.

“In matches like this, sometimes you’re so focused on the court. Sometimes, it’s scarier to be on the bench,” she said. “You don’t even notice anymore what’s going on because you’re so focused on what you need to do.”

That focus mattered most in the fifth set, where Cignal had to survive multiple moments that could have broken them. The Super Spikers needed four match points before finally putting Creamline away, with the Cool Smashers repeatedly refusing to let the match end.

That was what made the breakthrough feel so meaningful. In the kind of finish that had hurt them before, Cignal finally became the team that stayed upright long enough to finish the job.

For a team that has often looked capable of contending but struggled to close the biggest matches, Thursday’s result may mean more than just a place in the semifinals. It may also be proof that the Super Spikers are finally learning how to win the matches that used to break them.

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