La Salle Lady Spikers’ Angel Canino.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Despite Angel Canino’s comeback, La Salle yielded the twice-to-beat advantage to University of Santo Tomas ahead of their Final Four duel next week in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
Canino returned to action after recovering from a cut in her right forearm and delivered 13 points — all from attacks — but it wasn’t enough as La Salle got swept by UST in the elimination round with a 22-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-15 loss, which dragged the defending champions to the third seed, on Saturday evening at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It will be the first time the Lady Spikers are in a twice-to-win situation since 2019 when they got dethroned by the Sisi Rondina and Eya Laure-led Tigresses in the Season 81 Final Four.
READ: UAAP: Angel Canino returns to action for La Salle
La Salle and UST figured in a playoff for the No.2 spot but the latter won the bonus and ended the former’s “four-peat” bid.
The Ramil De Jesus-coached squad held the twice-to-beat advantage last year and eliminated UST en route to claiming the Season 85 championship after they swept National University in the finals for their 12th overall crown.
The Lady Spikers spent two hours inside their dugout after the loss and declined interviews when they came out at past 11 p.m.
The defending champions gave up 26 errors with Shevana Laput carrying the team with 26 points, backstopped by Canino. Thea Gagate was limited to seven points only nailing one block out of 17 attempts.
READ: UAAP: UST clinches twice-to-beat after repeating over La Salle
With an 11-3 elimination record, La Salle has to slay the ghost of its past when it lost to the twice-to-beat UST in the Season 81 Final Four.
But the good news for the Lady Spikers is their reigning MVP Canino is slowly getting her rhythm back after missing five games.
Canino was La Salle’s scoring leader in their first eight games, averaging 16.3 points per match before her non-volleyball-related accident.