Now in their own paths, Vanie Gandler continues to support her ex-Ateneo teammate Faith Nisperos as the two faced one another during the Cignal HD Spikers' dominant win over the Akari Chargers.
Two Ateneans were at the forefront of the Cignal-Akari match in the 2024-25 PVL All-Filipino Conference.
Vanie Gandler took charge for the HD Spikers, delivering a game-high 15 points in the team’s straight-sets victory over the Chargers, 25-17, 25-15, 25-21, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Tuesday, February 18.
On the other hand, Nisperos was the lone double-digit scorer for Akari with 12 points.
After the match, Gandler expressed her joy in seeing both her and Nisperos thriving in the PVL.
“I’m very proud of Faith and I’m really happy for her. It really makes my heart happy to see her in the court kasi of course, in Ateneo it was me and her helping each other and in Alas [Pilipinas] as well, we’re roommates sometimes so we get to talk, and just really proud to see her grow,” Gandler told One Sports.
Gandler and Nisperos were teammates in Ateneo from UAAP Season 82 to 85, where they wound up with a bronze medal finish in their Season 84 run.
Since then, the two have gone their separate ways with Gandler joining Cignal and Nisperos signing with Akari.
Despite their busy schedules, Gandler knows that their bond from college to Alas has kept them strong.
“Of course, our schedules are very different now so we don’t have the time to catch up but the Alas stint really brought us closer again, it rekindled us kasi we were together for months. I think parang low-maintenance friendship kami ni Faith,” said Gandler.
[ALSO READ: Faith Nisperos takes pride in playing for Alas Pilipinas with former Ateneo teammate Vanie Gandler]
While the two are shining on their own in the professional league, Gandler would hope to be teammates with Nisperos once more at some point in their careers.
“Of course, it would be nice to play with Faith again kasi in college we’d help each other, so yeah,” Gandler expressed.