After her shaky performance in the semifinals, Vanie Gandler made sure to step up to the challenge and help Cignal take Game 1 of the Premier Volleyball League Second All-Filipino Conference battle for bronze against Chery Tiggo.
Up against a motivated Crossovers side in the third-place match, the super rookie out of Ateneo rose to the occasion and hammered down 21 big points to help the HD Spikers grab a 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-20 win at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Thursday night.
“Today I just really want to fight for my team. Because they’ve helped me so much, and I wanna help them get another medal,” said Gandler, who is now laser-focused on helping her squad secure their fourth bronze medal in the PVL.
“It was heavy on us that Ate Rachel [Daquis] is not with us, but we still feel her support and today I just really wanted to fight for them ‘cause I know how hard we worked and how much we want this,” she added as Daquis missed the entirety of the conference to train as a coach in the US.
Gandler averaged 14.0 points per game in their three-game series versus eventual finalist Choco Mucho, but went missing in the crucial Game 2 where she scored only five points in what was supposed to be the finals clincher for the HD Spikers.
Cignal drew first blood in the series after coming back from a 0-2 deficit in Game 1 before eventually losing Game 2 via sweep and Game 3 in four sets.
Gandler admitted that the team was down following the heartbreaking loss to the Flying Titans, but she’s just glad to see the HD Spikers pick themselves up and soldier on against Chery Tiggo in the battle for bronze opener.
“For us, well that’s sports you know. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and we just have to accept it and move forward,” she said.
“Yesterday, Coach Shaq is right. It was a bit hard but I think today, what we put our minds on is the fight is not over and that to get a bronze medal is still a big achievement. So that’s our main focus right now.”
Now, the HD Spikers are once again in the same position they’re in back in the semifinals. And Gandler vowed to pour her heart out in Game 2 to avoid another major collapse.
“Of course, we can celebrate the win today but we know that it’s a best-of-three series and that’s just one win,” said Gandler.
“Now we have to get the second win and coming into the second game, we’re really gonna pour everything we have out. Our hearts, everything. All our hard work and just tomorrow practice hard and recover the best way we can.”
