Angel Canino and the La Salle Lady Spikers during their win over NU Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Angel Canino admitted La Salle learned the hard way in their fifth-set collapse to unbeaten University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
Canino and the Lady Spikers on Saturday made sure to complete a comeback win against their finals rivals National University Lady Bulldogs with a 15-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12 win in front of 13,848 fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Wag umasa sa lamang. Kasi yun nga, yung nangyari sa UST, lamang na kami, pero talo parin,” said Canino, recalling their five-set loss to UST, where they blew a 12-9 lead in the fifth. “So yun palang yung biggest lesson po namin and kung down kami sa sets, kailangan namin lumaban, kailangan namin ipakita kung ano meron kami. Puso, ilabas yung puso.”
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round
La Salle played its heart out banking on Shevana Laput, Canino, Amie Provido, and Alleiah Malaluan to fight back from a 1-2 deficit and pull away in the fifth to overcome the NU troika of Bella Belen, Alyssa Solomon, and Vange Alinsug, who combined for 60 points.
Canino, the Season 85 MVP and Rookie of the Year, fought for school pride by displaying coach Ramil De Jesus’ winning tradition.
La Salle’s Angel Canino, right, and Shevana Laput.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“Champion po kami last year so kailangan namin ipakita kung sino kami and hindi lang dahil champion kami last year kundi ang history ng La Salle. Kasi marami nang napatunayan ang La Salle. So kailangan namin kapitan yun at ipagpatunayan pa,” she said after helping La Salle end NU’s five-game winning run.
Provido, who rose to the occasion with 14 points built on a game-high five blocks, agreed with Canino that they learned to control their errors in the fifth set.
“Yung history na sabi ni Angel, so alam naman po natin yung previous na Lady Spikers and yun po yung pinangkukunan po namin ng lakas na gusto din po namin patunayan na kung ano yung iniwan nila, kaya din po namin,” Provido said.
La Salle ended the first round on a high note but Canino said the Lady Spikers need to work much harder in the second round if they are to continue their winning ways.
“I think coming into sa second round, mas kailangan namin ifocus talaga kung ano ba yung mga weaknesses na sinasabi ni coach Noel na wala na kami dapat lapses sa second round, and yun nga, hindi siya madali but kailangan habulin kasi yun nga, every game counts,” Canino said.