As one of the country’s top and most established volleyball franchises, the Cignal HD Spikers have refreshed and retooled their men’s squad for the upcoming volleyball wars in the 2024 edition of the Spikers’ Turf.
The guys in red start off their year with a bang as they have just signed top winger and one of the Philippines’ best hitters, Bryan Bagunas.
The multi-time Philippine national team member is coming off stints in Japan as a member of Oita Miyoshi Weisse Adler and Taiwan, where he still plays for the Taichung-based club Win Streak.
“Excited ako to begin this new chapter of my career with the Cignal HD Spikers. Alam naman natin isa na sila sa pinakakilala at pinakarespetadong teams sa men’s volleyball dito sa Pilipinas, kaya umaasa akong makakatulong ako sa kanilang mahabang listahan ng mga tagumpay,” said the former National University Bulldog and two-time UAAP champion.
Bagunas is still playing abroad and will see action when he returns to Manila in the summer.
Backing the red and black squad this 2024 are still Cignal HD mainstays: former Spikers’ Turf MVP Joshua Umandal, outside spiker Alfred Valbuena, setter EJ Casaña, opposite Lloyd Josafat, and newly minted team captains Wendel Miguel and JP Bugaoan – who is also the reigning back-to-back best middle blocker.
As the level of men’s volleyball in the Philippines continues to rise each year, the team aims to make it tough for any competition that comes their way by signing six new players to boost their 2024 title chances.
The 10-year-old club welcomed new faces Ron Rosales, Giles Torres, Madz Gampong, Nas Gwaza, Cian Silang, and libero Vince Lorenzo.
After securing one of the UAAP’s top spikers in Mark Calado, Cignal is set to welcome another FEU alumnus into the fold with Lorenzo. He played in college for the Tamaraws in UAAP Seasons 81 and 82, then took his talents to the national team, serving as the 1st libero in the 2023 Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.
Silang was also part of the FEU Tamaraws in his college days as a setter, while Gampong won multiple titles with the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP as their opposite hitter. He last played for the now-defunct AMC Cotabato Spikers in the 2023 Open Conference.
Ron Rosales has Spikers’ Turf experience with multiple teams, having played for Dasma, Navy, Imus, and Santa Rosa.
Giles Torres is another young blood, having played for the UE Red Warriors in the last UAAP season before joining the Iloilo D’Navigators last Invitational Conference.
Nas Gwaza is a formidable middle blocker after playing in college for Philippine Christian University and joining Iloilo in 2022. He also won the 2nd best middle blocker award in the 2023 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference.
Even after a decade, Cignal’s men’s volleyball squad remains as formidable as ever, with the company’s goal of developing these volleyball players’ careers after their college playing phase
