Kiseo Steps up for PLDT, Says Pag Cebuana, Matapang!
Shiela Kiseo has become the PLDT High Speed Hitters’ reliable key role player, a short but decisive presence whose entry signals that the match demands toughness. The phrase “Pag Cebuana, Matapang!” has been a personal credo for her that arrives on the court with every crucial serve and every tense defensive rotation.
In tight moments she does not drift into the background, she steps into the heat and changes the conversation of the set.
Clutch Serves and the Craft of Timing
Kiseo’s minutes are curated like a fine sprint. When the coaching staff taps her name, they are requesting a microcosm of steadiness. She arrives to do a narrow set of tasks and often leaves with momentum shifted.
The PLDT offense and defense both adjust to accommodate a player who is specialized for small windows of maximum impact. Her serve in those windows is rarely ornamental, it is targeted disruption aimed at breaking opponents’ rhythm and setting up easier defensive reads for her teammates.
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That role required adaptation and persistence. Kiseo shared with ALL-STAR her transition from a finisher in FEU to a pro role that often brings limited yet crucial time:
“Unang-una hindi po talaga siya madali, marami ding challenges na napagdaanan parehas sa training at sa life.”
She continued to credit the people who believed in her journey saying "Sobrang thankful po ako sa mga naging coaches ko kasi ang laki ng tiwala na binigay nila saakin. Lalo na since college, sina Coach Tina and Coach George."
Those statements explain why she can enter in the dying minutes with a calmness other players might lack. She explained the inner tether that keeps her steady,
“Kinakapitan ko lang talaga everyday kung ano yung rason ko kung bakit ko sinimulan yung volleyball. Yung families ko, doon din ako kumakapit lalo na pag pumapasok ako ng crucial.”
The mental construction behind each serve and dig is personal and intentional. She does all these movements with her loved ones in mind.
She does all of this while wearing her heritage like armor. She asserted plainly, “Proud ako na Cebuana ako, kasi mga Cebuana, mga confident talaga. Pag Cebuana, matapang, fighter, at makakapal yung mukha!” The line is a declaration of identity that matches her on-court function.
With a first franchise championship now behind them and a new finals date at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, PLDT will continue to rely on its specialists. Kiseo’s minutes may remain brief but her influence will not. That quiet certainty is the kind of contribution that turns close games into headlines.
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