La Salle Lady Spikers in the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals.
MANILA, Philippines — La Salle reigned supreme in the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals after outlasting Adamson, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17 in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Sunday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Less than 24 hours from winning Game 2 to force a rubber match, La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo insisted to his wards to continue to show what they are capable of.
The Lady Spikers heeded the call of their coaches as they fought with pride and proved that they are the UAAP champions, dominating the Lady Falcons to win their second crown in 2023.
Despite missing the resting rookie MVP Angel Canino and libero Justine Jazareno in their first tournament without Mars Alba, Jolina Dela Cruz, and Fifi Sharma, Shevana Laput stepped up big time with a consistent scoring performance in the tournament, where they won six of seven matches.
“When we lost in Game 1, we reminded them that we shouldn’t come here only to lose. We come here to win. That’s what we reminded them even las time,” said La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo. “[We told them] they should even surpass the intensity they gave yesterday.”
The 6-foot-2 opposite spiker conspired with holdovers Thea Gagate, Alleiah Malaluan, Amie Provido, and new starting setter Julia Coronel to deliver the school’s second title after ending a five-year championship drought in the UAAP Season 85.
The win also gave them their first SSL crown, surpassing their runner-up finish in the preseason tournament last year.
La Salle’s Shevana Laput in the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals finals Game 1. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Laput, who emerged as tournament MVP, led the Lady Spikers with 13 points including two blocks. Playmaker Coronel was hailed as Player of the Game with 12 excellent sets and three markers as Gagate, Provido, and Malaluan added 10 markers each, while Maicah Larozza added seven.
“I can’t express it well, because we’re not complete but we came here for exposure and it’s just a bonus that we won the championship. What’s good about this is, we saw where we’re lacking and the things we need to adjust for the UAAP,” Orcullo said. “This is just a bonus. We didn’t expect to be champions. ”
The reigning UAAP champions took full control of the third set with a 22-14 spread off Laput’s spike and Lorene Toring’s attack error before Malaluan took charge and delivered the last two points for La Salle with back-to-back off-the-block hits.
La Salle completed a series comeback from a 25-22, 17-25, 25-17, 25-27, 14-16 collapse in Game 1 before bouncing back behind the balanced attack from Laput, Provido, and Provido to dominate Adamson in Game 2, 25-23, 25-12, 25-18, and force a decider.
The Lady Spikers overcame an 8-11 start to take the opening set but squandered an 11-point advantage in the second frame as the Lady Falcons erased their 18-7 lead behind the attacks of Lorene Toring and Shar Ancheta followed by back-to-back attack errors from Jyne Soreño and Malaluan to cut it to down to just one, 23-22.
Provido nailed a clutch quick attack to stop the bleeding and reach set point, 24-22, followed by a big block of Gagate on Ayesha Juegos for a 2-0 lead.
Lucille Almonte was the lone double-digit scorer for the Lady Falcons as Toring and Ayesha Juegos added eight points each.