VANIE Gandler admitted that deciding to join a new team following the Cignal Super Spikers' leave of absence was difficult.
But she understood that life goes on, and life is about moving forward.
“It wasn’t easy, especially with the season that we came out of. We finally reached the Finals for the first time in the All-Filipino Conference, so it was really heartbreaking,” she told the media.
“But you know, in life you always have to move forward. So I took this as a new challenge for me,” she added.
The 2026 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Gandler was the most sought-after player after the franchise Cignal announced the news last April 27.
The former Cignal stalwart signed with the Capital 1 Solar Spikers, together with teammate Erika Santos, ahead of the 2026 PVL On Tour.
Capital 1, which made its best seventh-place finish and reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 Reinforced Conference with the help of Russian import Marina Tushova, struggled in the next conferences despite having the help of super rookie Bella Belen.
The Solar Spikers finished in seventh and eighth places in the 2026 edition of the Reinforced and All-Filipino Conferences.
The 25-year-old spiker knew that her assignment was to level up the franchise.
“Coming into the pros was a challenge, choosing a team was a challenge, and it ended up working. So I really just balanced where I could see I could grow, and I see that in Capital1 with everyone’s willingness to build a team.”
“It’s my new challenge to help the team also build and write a new story.”
For team owner Milka Romero, she shared that the franchise move is all about her goal to see her team match up with the tough teams in the league.
"And welcoming now experienced veterans is, I think, what we need to put an exclamation point to what the purpose of the team is, which is, of course, to win, to hopefully may a championship along the line.” NICOLE ANNE BUGAUISAN