logo
Cignal star Erika Santos crowned PVL On Tour MVP

Cignal star Erika Santos crowned PVL On Tour MVP

GMA Network4 days ago
PVL On Tour. August 7, 2025. Erika Santos of the Cignal HD Spikers against the Akari Chargers. (Photo: PVL)
In her debut tournament with Cignal, Erika Santos shone and earned a surprise Most Valuable Player plum for leading the HD Spikers in the inaugural 2025 PVL On Tour.
The hard-hitting opposite hitter, who transferred to Cignal after ending a three-year stint with PLDT last April, bagged the top honor after a breakout campaign that powered Cignal to a fourth-place finish in the preseason tilt.
Meanwhile, veterans Alyssa Valdez of Creamline and Myla Pablo of Petro Gazz were hailed the Best Outside Spikers while rising star Trisha Tubu of Farm Fresh was recognized as the Best Opposite Hitter.
Kyle Negrito of the Cool Smashers was honored as the Best Setter for helping the club capture the bronze medal while her teammate Jeanette Panaga and Majoy Baron of the recently-crowned champion PLDT were named the Best Middle Blockers.
PLDT skipper Kath Arado was given the Best Libero plum for anchoring the floor defense of the High Speed Hitters.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Alleiah Malaluan shines in PVL debut as PLDT downs Chery Tiggo
Alleiah Malaluan shines in PVL debut as PLDT downs Chery Tiggo

GMA Network

timean hour ago

  • GMA Network

Alleiah Malaluan shines in PVL debut as PLDT downs Chery Tiggo

Alleiah Malaluan shone in her professional debut as PLDT swept Chery Tiggo, 25-16, 25-14, 25-20, on Thursday in the PVL Invitational Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig. Malaluan delivered a game-high 11 points, built on 10 attacks, along with 13 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions. Majoy Baron also chipped in 10 points for the High Speed Hitters. PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort said they prioritized resting their usual starters after a grueling PVL On Tour, where the team claimed the title last Sunday. This allowed rookies like Malaluan to step up for the team. 'Ang mas naging goal ay pangalagaan 'yung sa kanila, saka magbigay ulit ng opportunity sa mga second unit. So at least, isa sa mga naging reinforcement namin 'yung matagal na naming inaantay, si Alleiah Malaluan, nakapag-perform naman,' Ricafort said. Cess Robles led the Crossovers with eight points, while Jen Nierva, also returning from national team duties like Malaluan, tallied 18 excellent digs and nine excellent receptions. PLDT improved to 2-0, while Chery Tiggo dropped to 1-1. The results of both teams' PVL On Tour semifinal matches — against Creamline and Cignal, respectively — were carried over to the Invitational Conference, following a mutual agreement among teams to take a one-day rest instead of adding another game day. —JKC, GMA Integrated News

Creamline reasserts mastery vs Cignal to open PVL Invitationals
Creamline reasserts mastery vs Cignal to open PVL Invitationals

GMA Network

time2 hours ago

  • GMA Network

Creamline reasserts mastery vs Cignal to open PVL Invitationals

Creamline reasserted its mastery over Cignal as the Cool Smashers escaped the HD Spikers, 22-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-11, 15-8, on Thursday in the opening day of the PVL Invitational Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig. Michele Gumabao led the Cool Smashers with 22 points built on 18 attacks and four blocks, while Jema Galanza added 18 points as they secured the win just days after their third-place match against Cignal in the PVL On Tour. Alyssa Valdez also delivered with 11 points, 12 digs, and 14 receptions. 'Siguro unang-una, na-sweep din [nila] kami nung first round ng eliminations, then nakabawi kami. Ibang-iba na 'yung mga games, talagang magkakakilala na. Sa tingin ko, ang naging advantage namin 'yung experience ng team,' said Creamline head coach Sherwin Meneses. Heather Guino-o paced Cignal with 21 points off 18 attacks and three aces, while PVL On Tour Most Valuable Player Erika Santos chipped in 11 points. With the win, Creamline improved to 1-1, while Cignal dropped to 0-2. Why do both teams already have one loss on their Invitational Conference standings? The one loss each team carries was brought over from the PVL On Tour semifinals. According to the PVL, participating teams mutually agreed to a one-day rest instead of scheduling an additional game day. As a result, Creamline and Cignal started the conference with a 0-1 record, while PLDT and Chery Tiggo, the PVL On Tour finalists, started at 1-1. —JKC, GMA Integrated News

PLDT savors maiden PVL crown as past heartaches finally turn to gold
PLDT savors maiden PVL crown as past heartaches finally turn to gold

GMA Network

time3 days ago

  • GMA Network

PLDT savors maiden PVL crown as past heartaches finally turn to gold

The PLDT High Speed Hitters finally struck gold, ending years of frustration with a breakthrough PVL crown. The High Speed Hitters broke the curse by fending off Chery Tiggo in five grueling sets to rule the inaugural PVL On Tour on Sunday with a 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 24-26, 15-8 win at the Mall of Asia Arena. It was a long and tough journey for PLDT, which endured heartaches and near-misses in the past, before claiming a coveted PVL crown. "Hindi ako religious na tao pero inintindi ko lang na no'ng pinag-pray namin na tumibay 'yung team tsaka magkaro'n ng tapang [at] maging resilient, ang binigay sa amin na challenge ay 'yung na-experience namin from last year, 'yung mga sayang, 'yung mga heartbreaks," PLDT head coach Rald Ricafort. "Tinake ko na lang personally na nire-ready kami for ngayon." [I'm not a religious person but when we prayed for the team to be stronger and to have courage and be resilient, the challenge given to us was our experience from last year, the almosts, the heartbreaks... I took it personally that it was making us ready for this.] PLDT had long been a consistent force in the league, but despite fielding a star-studded squad led by Mika Reyes, Majoy Baron, Kim Fajardo, Kath Arado, and Svi Davison, the elusive title remained out of reach. They came close just last year, when the High Speed Hitters reached the semifinals of the 2024 Reinforced Conference against Akari and even held match point at 14-13. But a costly net touch challenge called by them mid-play fired back as it eventually allowed the Chargers to eke out the win. That loss, however, was used as motivation by PLDT. "Actually nawala na talaga sa isip namin 'yun kasi nga hindi kami pwedeng mag-dwell sa loss na 'yun, sa heartache na 'yun. Motivation siya sa amin na kailangan pa naming i-improve," team captain and libero Kath Arado added. "Kasi hindi naman namin pwedeng isisi lang sa isang side, may kasalanan din kami sa part na 'yun e. Kailangan lang talaga namin i-improve 'yung sarili." [Actually, it was not in our heads because we can't dwell on that loss, on that heartache. It's motivation for us that we need to improve... We can't just blame it on one side, we have our fault in that part also. We just really need to improve ourselves.] Last All-Filipino Conference, PLDT fell twice to Choco Mucho in their best-of-three quarterfinals to bow out of contention despite finishing the preliminary round at fourth spot. But they came back stronger this time with the usual suspects leading the way against an equally-hungry Chery Tiggo, who was eager to quench its four-year title drought. In all, PLDT endured three fourth-place finishes and five fifth-place showings before finally breaking the dry spell on Sunday. "I think 'yung lagi lang na sinasabi ng coaches at players na maging present talaga the whole game kasi hindi naman 'to basta-basta na ibibigay ng opponent," Reyes said. "And kahit na two sets ahead kami, hindi namin inisip na makukuha namin 'to agad so sobrang thankful kami na kinapitan talaga namin 'yung bawat isa." [I think, what the coaches and players always say that we should be present the whole game because the opponents are not going to just give this to us... And even when we were two sets ahead, we weren't thinking that we would be able to get this right away, so we're so thankful that we really stuck together.] —JMB, GMA Integrated News

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store