Every week, INQUIRER Sports will be ranking the seven best performers in the UAAP Season 79 women’s volleyball tournament. The author will base the rankings on the players’ team placings, statistics and observation for the week.
The second round has officially begun and Ateneo is still the best team.
There’s been movement in the middle of the table with University of Santo Tomas taking a solid foothold on one of the potential Final Four spots and University of the Philippines slipping to all the way down to sixth.
Defending champions De La Salle is at close second behind Ateneo while Far Eastern University and National University are perched at precarious positions.
And even though the tournament is well on its way into the second round but there are still newcomers in this list. Actually this week’s edition has two.
Teaser, Jaja Santiago is gone (again) and Kim Kianna Dy is back (again).
Here are INQUIRER’s top seven players for Week 6.
1. Jia Morado (Ateneo de Manila University, setter)
Last week: No. 1
Weeks on list: 4
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Behold the only person to repeat as the top player in this list.
Jia Morado has been nothing but mesmerizing this term for Ateneo that numbers won’t even do her justice.
Bea De Leon, Ateneo’s emotional leader, described Morado as if she’s a conductor of an orchestra.
“She makes volleyball a lot easier for us because almost 100 percent of the time the ball will go the setter,” said De Leon.
Even Ateneo’s assistant coach Sherwin Meneses, who played the same position as Morado during his playing years with Adamson University, couldn’t help but marvel at their setter.
Meneses said there are players that are just born good and Morado is one of them.
“Jia’s instinct as a setter is just different from others and she can make any play from any bad reception,” said Meneses.
Well, need this author say more?
2. Kim Kianna Dy (De La Salle University, opposite hitter)
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 4
La Salle’s Kim Dy. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Kim Kianna Dy is back and that is virtue of her team going 2-0 this week.
De La Salle scored two quick wins over Far Eastern University and National University but it was the Lady Spikers’ victory against the Lady Bulldogs where Dy showcased her offensive prowess.
Dy, as this writer has mentioned before, is La Salle’s most consistent scorer with an average of 12.55 points scored per game but veering away from the constant can sometimes be advantageous.
Her 17 points against NU is a big step-up from her average and that eventually led to their 25-21, 25-11, 15-25, 25-12 win.
3. Mary Joy Baron (De La Salle University, middle blocker)
Weeks on list: 1
La Salle’s Majoy Baron. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Enter Mary Joy Baron.
Baron’s reason for her inclusion in this list is almost the same as Dy’s with La Salle taking a two-game win streak to begin the second round and a strong play against NU.
In her matchup against Jaja Santiago, Baron showed her class and finished with 15 points, six of which were blocks.
What’s impressive about Baron’s stat line is that she had more blocks not only against Santiago, who had two, but against the whole NU team, which had four.
If Baron’s recent play keeps up, she may very well repeat as the best blocker this Season 79.
4. Jhoana Maraguinot (Ateneo de Manila University, outside hitter)
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 2
Ateneo’s Jhoana Maraguinot. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ateneo played just one game this week but boy did Jhoana Maraguinot make an impression.
Maraguinot experienced a complete offensive turnaround when she scored 17 points to lead the Lady Eagles to a three-set sweep of University of the Philippines, 25-15, 25-14, 25-15.
Before unloading on the Lady Maroons, however, Maraguinot scored just five points in Ateneo’s first round finale against De La Salle.
5. Toni Rose Basas (Far Eastern University, opposite hitter)
Last week: N/A
Weeks on list: 2
FEU’s Toni Rose Basas. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Far Eastern University started the second round with a so-so performance as the Lady Tamaraws went 1-1 this week.
That one loss was against the defending champions when the Lady Spikers cruised to a three-set sweep.
The Lady Tamaraws, though, made a turnaround and made quick work of Adamson University, 25-9, 25-20, 25-11, and Toni Rose Basas was instrumental in that victory.
Basas led FEU with 16 points, which was a big improvement from her seven-point production in their loss to La Salle.
6. Desiree Cheng (De La Salle University, outside hitter)
Weeks on list: 1
La Salle’s Desiree Cheng. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Desiree Cheng has come back from injury and she’s made a stopover in this week’s list.
During La Salle’s little two-game win streak this week, Cheng has averaged 8.5 points. It may sound small but considering her team’s balanced scoring with Dy’s 12.55 points-per-game, that makes up a large chunk of the Lady Spikers’ offense.
Cheng’s worth, though, was seen when she scored 11 points in their record win against FEU, 25-5, 25-23, 25-23.
That glaring 25-5 first set scoreline is the greatest margin since 2010 when University of Santo Tomas obliterated University of the East 25-2.
7. Pam Lastimosa (University of Santo Tomas, opposite hitter)
Weeks on list: 1
UST’s Pam Lastimosa. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Like Cheng, Pam Lastimosa missed all of Season 78 due to an injury.
But Lastimosa’s back and she’s provided the veteran presence to the University of Santo Tomas, which stands at 5-3.
The Golden Tigresses played just one game this week, against UE, and that resulted in a win that extended UST’s streak to four unbeaten matches.
Lastimosa has been relegated to the second unit this season but that didn’t stop her from playing her best match this season when she led UST with 10 points in the Golden Tigresses’ 25-21, 25-15, 25-23 victory.