When the Philippine Superliga (PSL) began releasing the official rosters of all eight competing teams for the upcoming Grand Prix a few days ago, Cignal HD fans (and most volleyball fans in general) waited if iconic "Bionic Ilongga" Jovelyn Gonzaga would be on the line-up after reportedly making a full recovery from the ACL injury she sustained in December of 2017. But the Guimaras native's jersey #8 was not on the list and the HD Spikers once again need all hands on deck to make a relevant charge in this year's season opening tournament.
While Gonzaga is close to a return and Janine Marciano (who also tore her ACL early last year) has been medically cleared to resume volleyball activities, Cignal may activate them during the next conference-or even perhaps towards the tail end of this one, if they have been listed as reserves (only the active rosters were released to the media).
The HD Spikers will not only be missing the services of Gonzaga and Marciano anew, but also "Blockbuster" Royse Tubino (undisclosed injury), Lut Malaluan (waived), Ria Sante (waived) and Roselyn Doria (UAAP season) as the team had to make room for its imports and new locals.
Cignal made some noise at the onset of their participation in the league as one of the pioneers in 2013, thanks to the exploits of inaugural MVP Venus Bernal and longtime national team coach Sammy Acaylar. Libero Jheck Dionela is the only remnant of that original club still on the roster.
They immediately went on to make two finals appearances despite being heavy underdogs and are looking for their first crown since emerging as Co-Champions with Kobe Shinwa University (Japan) during the 2017 Invitationals and their first podium finish since last season's same edition where they copped the bronze medal.
Cignal HD Spikers:
Janine NAVARRO - OH/OP (CSB)
Jheck DIONELA - L (UPHSD)
Mumay VIVAS - MB (FEU)
Pauline CARDIENTE - S (CSB)
Mylene PAAT - OP (AdU)
Anastasia ARTEMEVA - MB (Louisville)
Acy MASANGKAY - S (UE)
Erica WILSON - OH (Arizona State)
Cindy AMUTAN - L (DLS-D)
Rachel Anne DAQUIS (Captain) - OH (FEU)
Rap-Rap AGUILAR - OH/OP (USJ-R)
Shirley SALAMAGOS - MB (AU)
Ranya MUSA - MB (CSB)
Head Coach/General Manager: Edgar BARROGA
League Ambassadress Rachel Anne Daquis will still be at the forefront of the HD Spikers offensive juggernaut, and she is now joined by Erica Wilson who was a former member of the United States U23 squad that finished fourth in the World Championships in 2013 and the twelfth all-time leading scorer in Arizona State Sun Devils history. Wilson, 27, has had stints in the German circuit for Köpenicker and USC Munster, in Switzerland for Volley Köniz and in Turkey for Manisa Büyükşehir Belediyespor-her squad for the last two years. This is her first action in Asia.
Wilson led the PAC-12 US NCAA Division I women's volleyball competition in aces and points during her senior year at Arizona State and became only the third individual to end her collegiate career with over 1,000 points and 300 blocks in school history behind iconic Sue Nord in 1976 and three-time Olympian Tammy Webb-Liley.
Manning the middle will be Ulyanovsk, Russia native Anastasia Artemeva, a defensive specialist who saw action in three seasons for the Cardinals and has since been active in the American circuit. Artemeva will most likely be seeing time diagonal to Ranya Musa, who will be coming off her final season as a member of the Lady Blazers in the NCAA.
Musa rejoins the HD Spikers after a two-year hiatus to complete her studies. This will be the former St. Benilde star's first PSL action since the 2016 All-Filipino Conference and she will be reunited with college teammate Janine Navarro to add length to the squad.
Head Coach and General Manager Edgar Barroga has also brought in another CSB ace in Pauline Cardiente to back up Acy Masangkay in the setting department. Masangkay will be tasked to see heavy minutes and may have her hands full trying to keep everyone on the offensive end happy-especially with the added firepower from Wilson and Atremeva.
However, the vastly improved play of Pangasinan native Mylene Paat has become the biggest eye-opener for the HD Spikers.
Paat was the scoring champion in last season's All-Filipino Conference and if it were not for the outstanding showing by Aiza Maizo-Pontillas in Petron's near perfect run to the title, Paat may have even taken the Best Opposite Hitter accolade. Her contributions in international competition has also been vibrant and if we just witnessed the tip of the iceberg last season-as she was finally done with her scholastic duties at Adamson University-then the 5'10" lefty could be in for a banner year for Cignal.
Daquis' leadership will also be vital while the gung-ho floor patrolling style of Dionela will be more than a necessity if Cignal hopes to hold the fort until Gonzaga and Marciano are back in harness.
Cignal will continue to be a crowd favorite, though, and if they can muster enough energy from their rabid supporters, these HD Spikers can become a legitimate contender for the crown they came so close to snaring six seasons ago. It will be a test of resilience for the personnel-challenged squad, but with the new tools in place, Cignal could just be a heartbeat away from making a deep run in the upcoming Grand Prix.
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