Cignal uses pain as fuel in fight for QF spot

THE aftermath of every heartache hurts more — but Cignal moves differently, showing that the team can bounce back stronger.

The No. 3 seed Cignal held all its hopes to make it to the playoffs after wasting its advantage in a shocking loss against bottom team Galeries in the Premier Volleyball League 2024-2025 All-Filipino Conference.

Head coach Shaq Delos Santos recalled the day when the team lost its edge, and had to crawl their way up once again after being relegated to the play-in tournament.

"I am about to pass out ... I have a dark complexion, but I think I went pale. Actually, after that loss, the feeling is too much. We don't know what hap-pened, but the good thing is the management motivated us through ups and downs. Also in my part, I also learned how to be composed [in] those types of situations so that we know now how to handle it the next time," he said.

"That's our motivation, the weight of it is where we draw our strength. This is our way to recover and to come back."

True enough, the HD Spikers showed that they are back on track despite the lingering pain of the upset after being one-win away to secure a playoff spot, beating Capital, 1, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, last Tuesday.

Still, it was not all easy.

"It was not easy. The past three days of our training [have been] different. What we felt was different. This time when we won against Capital1, it felt really good. This is what we really need. This win is not for us to forget the pain, it's about us learning our lessons, and how far we can go," he added.