De La Salle triumvirate top bets for UAAP women’s volley plums

Photo by Ryan Ong

MANILA, Philippines—Three players at the forefront of defending champion La Salle’s unbeaten start in the UAAP Season 74 women’s volleyball tournament also figure prominently in the race for individual awards.

La Salle aces Abigail Maraño, Michelle Gumabao and Cha Cruz are leading key categories just before the league went into a holiday break.

Underscoring their worth, the Lady Archers pace the tournament with a 6-0 record, followed by Ateneo at 5-1, Adamson and University of Santo Tomas at 4-2, Far Eastern U at 3-3, National U and University of the East at 1-5 and University of the Philippines at 0-6.

The final first-round playdate is scheduled Jan. 7 at the FilOil Flying V Arena. FEU and NU collide at 2 p.m. and Adamson and Ateneo battle at 3:30 p.m. in the women’s division. The men’s games pit Adamson against Ateneo at 9 a.m. and La Salle versus University of the Philippines at 10:30 a.m.

Maraño emerged as the top contender for the Best Spiker award with a 44.94-percent success rate, ahead of Ateneo’s Dzi Gervacio with 40.91 percent and UST’s Maika Ortiz with 40.69 percent in statistics gathered by TMX Sports.

The open spiker is also running second in the scoring department with 97 points on 80 attacks, 13 blocks and four service aces.

Only UST’s Maru Banaticla who has 104 points on 92 spikes, seven service winners and five blocks has performed better. NU standout Cai Nepomuceno ranks third with 91 points, while Ateneo skipper Fille Cainglet has had 90 hits. FEU’s Rosemarie Vargas rounds out the Top Five with 86 points.

A daughter of former pro cager Dennis Roldan, Gumabao has been a force on the defensive end. Her average of 0.73 blocks per set is the best in the league, ahead of Mayjorie Roxas of FEU with 0.61 and, again, Maraño with 0.59.

Cruz, also known for her defensive ability, posted the highest efficiency rating in serves with a 0.77 average per set.

Sheila Pineda of Adamson lies second with a 0.61 rating, followed by La Salle rookie Ara Galang and UE’s Kite Rosale with similar 0.55 each.

FEU’s Gyzelle Sy has turned out to be the most efficient setter with a 10.65 average per set. UST’s Rhea Dimaculangan is second with 10.09.