VIGAN, ILOCOS SUR — Heather Guino-o made an immediate impact in her debut for Cignal, relying on her familiarity with head coach Shaq Delos Santos — her former mentor at Far Eastern University — and several former college teammates to help propel the HD Spikers past Capital1 on Monday night.
After being sidelined in Cignal’s opening win against Akari, Guino-o came off the bench and delivered a solid performance, finishing with seven points in the HD Spikers’ 25-21, 25-22, 25-16 sweep of her former team at the Chavit Coliseum here.
The 27-year-old outside hitter provided a steady presence in Cignal’s balanced offensive effort, proving her value and showing she’s ready to step up when needed.
Guino-o shared that being surrounded by familiar faces — her former FEU teammates Gel Cayuna, Buding Duremdes, and Gyzelle Sy — along with Coach Shaq, helped ease her transition into the Cignal system.
“Yes po [nakatulong]. Kasi lalo na po karamihan ng nasa Cignal, FEU, tapos program din ni Coach Shaq, so hindi naman po sobrang hirap mag-adjust,” said Guino-o after the match.
(C) PVL Images
Guino-o joined Cignal in the offseason after two seasons with the Solar Spikers, where she was part of the original lineup when the team debuted in the Premier Volleyball League.
She was coming off one of her strongest individual campaigns with Capital1 in the 2024–25 PVL All-Filipino Conference, starting out strong before eventually seeing a decrease in playing time as the tournament progressed.
Facing her former team for the first time, Guino-o said she treated the match like any other, choosing to focus on her role with Cignal.
“Hindi, wala naman po. Parang lahat ng makakalaban, mas motivated kami,” she said.
Now with a fresh start and renewed motivation, Guino-o feels determined to make the most of this opportunity and contribute however she can to help Cignal succeed.
“Yun nga po, na mas makatulong sa team ngayon pong sinabi ni Coach Shaq na dapat po ready kami. Kung ano pong magiging kulang, kailangan pong punan,” she expressed.
#WATCH: Coach Shaq Delos Santos talks about Cignal’s impressive 2-0 start in the #PVLonTour 🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/j7rLJ4rCDU
🎥 @jonashdcd /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/nNAOeo5EQn
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) June 23, 2025
