Cignal head coach Shaq de los Santos is confident of what American import Tai Bierria can bring to the table in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference that opens this Saturday.
But the mentor pointed out that Cignal’s goal of capturing the crown in the PVL’s first-ever staging of the import-laden conference as a professional league will depend on how his locals will perform.
“This conference is not just about how strong your reinforcement is. It’s about how your locals will work and jell with your import,” De los Santos told Daily Tribune.
Cignal, which seeks to better its back-to-back bronze medal finishes this year in the Open and Invitational conferences, parades a solid and intact local roster led by reliable all-around players in Ces Molina and Rachel Anne Daquis.
The HD Spikers also boasts of strong middles in Riri Meneses and Angeli Araneta, Graze Bombita, Roselyn Doria, setters Gel Cayuna and Ayel Estranero as well as veteran libero Jeck Dionela.
“We know we are in for a tough campaign. This is a different ball game because of the imports so we need to double our effort this time,” he added.
The HD Spikers were one of the first in the nine-team field to introduce their reinforcement, giving Bierria more time to train and get to know her teammates.
“She’s adjusting very well with the system and slowly building good chemistry with the team. That I think will be a big advantage for us,” De los Santos said of his 6-foot-1 outside hitter.
Bierria played for the Memphis Tigers in the US NCAA Division I from 2016 to 2018 before suiting up for the New Mexico Lobos.
She also saw action in Finland for Polkky Kuusamo from 2020 to 2021 and just finished her season with the Clamart Volley-Ball in France.
De los Santos is also tweaking his rotation to ensure that Cignal will maximize its firepower.
Molina is expected to slide from an open hitter position to opposite spiker while Bierria will join Daquis at the open positions.
“That’s the little adjustments that we made with the team. But basically, Ces has been working in that position even in our previous conferences,” De los Santos said.
“Ces is a very flexible player, actually all my players are versatile and can play multiple positions.”
The HD Spikers get a taste of action on opening day at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex, testing the mettle of newcomer Akari at 5:30 p.m.
Cignal’s sister team PLDT and Army are scheduled for the 2:30 p.m. curtain-raiser.