Cignal head coach Shaq delos Santos wants to see more from his squad, especially since they are taking on the reigning champion Creamline in the 2023 Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference.
The HD Spikers opened their semifinals campaign with a dominant 25-22, 25-15, 25-21 win over PLDT at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Thursday. However, delos Santos knows that there is more potential in his squad moving forward.
“Syempre hindi kuntento dun sa pinapakita kasi yung level ng labanan mataas e. I think yung ma-maintain namin siya… pero syempre sobrang happy dahil grabe yung nagiging effort talaga ng buong team both players and coaches and syempre yung Cignal management grabe yung suporta sa amin,” said Delos Santos after the victory.
“Talagang all out. So para sa amin, it’s a good sign, pero hindi siya ibig sabihin na magiging okay na yung lahat. Kumbaga, mas kailangan pa naming paghandaan yung mga susunod pa [na laban] dahil yun yung mas magiging mahirap,” he added.
Cignal, who lost to groupmate F2 Logistics in four sets during the pool stage, entered the playoffs with a 0-1 record but managed to even it at 1-1 after the win against the High Speed Hitters.
Knowing what’s at stake, University of the Philippines mentor demands more consistency from his squad as they look to get as many wins as possible to make it to the finals.
And up next for the HD Spikers? It’s none other than the defending champion Creamline.
“Mas itataas namin yung level ng laro namin lalo na sa Creamline. Talagang grabe yung team nila. So para sa amin, siguro mas mag-recover lang kami, mag-pahinga, mag-review lang kami tomorrow and enjoy lang namin yung game namin on Saturday,” said delos Santos.
“Kasi syempre makakalaban mo yung defending champion so ‘di ba? Minsan lang ‘yan so kailangan maenjoy namin. Mag-all out kami, alam naman din namin kung ano yung kailangan naming gawin. Siguro mas maging consistent lang kami sa lahat ng gagawin namin.”
