La Salle looks to right flaw amid perfect run
La Salle knows the finish line for the first round is within sight. But even as the Lady Spikers are looking at the big picture—their last two games before the next round starts—they are also looking inward.
And in doing so, they understand that focusing on just the next two games would be a mistake, especially since it took that amount of games to have the team worrying over its current approach to matches.
“The season is still long, the first round isn’t over yet,” assistant coach Noel Orcullo said in Filipino. “We need to return to the things we forgot. In the past two games, we relaxed a bit. We have to go back to the basics.”
It may seem like needless worrying, considering that La Salle hasn’t lost a game in UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball action.
But to tolerate the way they played could prove disastrous for the Lady Spikers.
La Salle dropped its first set of the campaign against archrival Ateneo before regrouping for a 25-15, 25-20, 25-19 win over University of the East last Saturday. The victory also marked the return of star opposite hitter Shevana Laput after missing two matches.
Still, La Salle’s coaches saw moments where the team drifted away from its system—something they cannot afford with a Finals rematch against defending champion National University looming on Sunday.
For reigning MVP Angel Canino, the immediate challenge is Adamson.
Tied with UP
The Lady Falcons enter the match tied with the University of the Philippines for fourth place at 3-2 and are pushing to return to the Final Four for the first time since finishing third in Season 85.
Canino knows the threat goes beyond her Alas Pilipinas teammate Shai Nitura.
“Adamson is a strong team,” Canino said in Filipino. “You can see how fearless they are. Even when they’re behind in a set, you can see that they still want to win.”
“They have a lot of players who are willing to contribute. Not just in the middle, but even their veterans are really pushing themselves to help the team.”
One of those players is Frances Mordi, whose development has caught La Salle’s attention.
“Mordi has improved a lot from last year,” Canino said. “Of course, Shaina is Shaina—we all know what she can do. But for us, we just want to show how La Salle moves as a team.”
Adamson is also coming off an impressive victory, dismantling University of Santo Tomas in straight sets behind Nitura, Mordi and rookie Joy Aseo, who made her first start of the season.
Lady Falcons coach JP Yude said the key for his team is maintaining focus heading into one of its biggest matches of the first round.
“We’ll stay locked in starting in practice and in our preparation,” Yude said in Filipino. “The things we need to work on, we’ll work on. The result will be up to God. What matters is we give our best every time.”
Nitura, the league’s leading scorer with 101 points, echoed that approach.
“We’ll just focus on our side and on what we can do to slow them down,” she said. “Whatever the result is, we’ll accept it.”
Elsewhere in the day’s schedule, University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas meet at 3 p.m. as both teams try to regain momentum.
UP may again be without Casiey Dongallo, who remains doubtful after sustaining a left knee injury in the Fighting Maroons’ loss to Far Eastern University.
UST, meanwhile, is trying to recover from its worst five-match start since Season 80, with coach Shaq delos Santos searching for answers after the Tigresses’ straight-set defeat to Adamson last weekend.
