The Capital1 Solar Spikers made a splash so loud it reverberated across the entire PVL landscape.
On Thursday, after days of speculation, Capital1 officially announced the acquisition of former MVPs Vanie Gandler and Erika Santos from the now-disbanded Cignal Super Spikers, and Jaja Maraguinot from the Nxled Chameleons.
“This is the beginning of a new story in Capital1. We had this dream with my sister Mandy two years ago when we joined the PVL, and it’s part of a long journey,” said Capital1 owner Mika Romero. “Welcoming experienced veterans is what we need to put an exclamation point on the purpose of the team, which is to win a championship along the way.”
Gandler was named MVP of the All-Filipino Conference, where Cignal finished with a silver after losing to perennial contenders Creamline Cool Smashers in the Finals. Santos, meanwhile, earned her MVP in the 2025 PVL on Tour, where the Super Spikers narrowly missed out on a podium finish after dropping the battle for bronze—also to the Cool Smashers.
What Capital1’s Signing Coup Means
Put simply, these signings represent a bold step toward the team’s expressed goal of winning a championship. In fact, it isn’t much of a stretch to say that adding Gandler, Santos, and Maraguinot to the core of Bella Belen, Leila Cruz, Roma Mae Doromal, and Pauline Gaston elevates the Solar Spikers into the realm of contenders.
Clearly, the talent is undeniable. Gandler and Santos are among the league’s very best, are in their prime, and will form a deadly troika with Belen—herself a likely future MVP after bagging Rookie of the Year last conference. Critically, Santos and Gandler fill a pressing need: spiking efficiency. Last conference, Capital1 was seventh in this metric at 28.30; the two MVPs figure to change that dramatically.
But expectations must be tempered because, for all that talent, the established order—think Creamline first and the PLDT High Speed Hitters—won’t easily give up their spots high up in the PVL totem pole. In other words, while the Solar Spikers are looking mighty good on paper, that loaded roster won’t guarantee success, much less a championship.
Either Way, PVL Wins
Of course, it isn’t too hard to picture the rejigged Solar Spikers figuring things out sooner rather than later, especially with a leader like Belen.
“Volleyball is a team effort, so mas maraming makakapuntos, mas madali para sa team,” she said about the high-profile signings. “I’m very happy kasi kilala naman natin sina Ate Vanie at Ate Erika. We’re very excited kung anong mabubuo naming dynamics at kung paano kami magge-gel at magco-complement sa isa’t-isa…”
Fans are very likely to be just as excited to see how Capital1 meshes together all this talent. This new constellation of stars is sure to generate plenty of fan interest and will probably grow the Solar Spikers’ fandom exponentially. That’s good news for the PVL, whose prime attractions through the years have mostly been Creamline, the Choco Mucho Flying Titans, and maybe PLDT.
Capital1 will be joining those three in terms of popularity—and it’s something the PVL badly needs.
And if all goes according to plan, the Solar Spikers might even battle Creamline and PLDT as the league’s standard-bearers when it comes to winning.
