It is back to the drawing board for Cignal.
The Cignal HD Spikers ended the PVL All-Filipino Conference on a winning note, defeating Army Black Mamba in straight sets, 29-27, 25-19, 25-16, in the last game of the eliminations.
Despite the win, it was a lost conference for Cignal, who finished with a 3-5 slate to miss the semifinals—ending a streak of three consecutive podium finishes dating back to last season.
But the team won’t be dwelling on their lackluster showing, said coach Shaq Delos Santos, who vowed that his HD Spikers will rise up next conference. And they will be using their failures this tournament as inspiration, of course, and as fuel to get better come the PVL Invitational.
“Magiging inspiration namin ‘to, additional inspiration para sa amin pagpasok ng Invitational,” Delos Santos told the media post-game.
But as the HD Spikers look to pick up the pieces of their lost conference, the process, evidently, starts by taking responsibility of the failure and then accepting the challenge to do better
“We fell short talaga. Aminado kami jan,” Delos Santos gamely admitted. “Siguro marami rin kaming kailangan ulit ibalik, i-improve pa, [at] ang dami namin natutunan. Personally, accept ko talaga ‘tong challenge na ‘to. Malaking challenge sa amin, wake-up call sa amin ‘to and lesson learned lahat…”
The next step, according to Delos Santos is to get back to the grind and establish a stronger, better foundation.
“Usapan namin ng team, after Holy Week makabalik na kami dahil kailangan namin ng magandang foundation,” Delos Santos bared. “I think isa yun sa mga naging kulang namin nitong pagpasok ng 2023. Kung anuman ‘yung napagdaanan namin, tatanggapin lang namin, and yun ‘yung magiging inspiration namin pagpasok ng Invitational. “
That means the HD Spikers will have just a little over three weeks to lick their wounds, get their rest, and do some soul-searching. After that, the process of getting better officially begins again.