Smart Prepaid, Cignal eye strong finish in Superliga
Sister teams Smart Prepaid and Cignal vow to make an impact as they slug it out with the best in the fold in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix unfolding Saturday at the Ynares Sports Center in Pasig.
Smart is going all-out for an impressive finish on a team handled by coach Ronald Dulay and led by a pair of former members of the Cuban national team in Gyselle De La Caridad Silva and Lisbet Arredondo Reyes.
Silva was part of the Cuban squad that campaigned in the FIVB Women’s World Championship in Japan in 2010 and in the Pan American Games in Mexico in 2011.
Reyes also played for Cuba in the World Championship before backstopping club teams in Indonesia and Spain.
“We may not be as starstudded as the other teams, but I can assure that we will play hard from start to finish,” said Dulay, adding that veteran liberos Sha Torres and Tin Agno will fill the backline while Jeanie Delos Reyes, Genie Sabas, Florence Madulid, Hezzy Acuna and Janet Serafica round up the roster.
Despite losing some key players like Honey Royse Tubino, Maica Morada, Paneng Mercado, Chie Saet and the injured Jovelyn Gonzaga and Janine Marciano, Cignal still remains a solid force in the league.
Also tipped to pull off some surprises in the tournament bankrolled by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Grand Sport and UCPB Gen with ESPN5 as official broadcast partner are the HD Spikers.