READY AS CAN BE
Angel Canino played as hard as she can, Shevana Laput returned to active duty and it was business as usual for La Salle on Saturday as the Lady Spikers hammered University of the East, 25-15, 25-20, 25-19, to stay in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament lead.
And after that, Adamson, the next team up for the Lady Spikers, prepped for that coming clash in a huge way by thumping University of Santo Tomas also in the same emphatic fashion, 27-25, 25-22, 25-12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, giving both stars and sides the positive energy they need heading into one of the marquee games of the round.
Canino vs Shaina Nitura, slated for Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, has just gathered a lot of steam, as the Adamson star tossed in 22 points in the win over the Golden Tigresses.
Canino scored 12 points off 10 kills and the team captain Laput was back in the fray after a two-game absence, completing the fearsome nucleus of the title favorites, who roared to a fifth straight win after not giving the Lady Warriors much of a chance at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Though it was a lopsided game, the La Salle coaching staff still had to keep its players on their toes, preaching respect for the opponents.
“Actually, these kids relaxed so we had to remind them to treat UE with respect,” assistant coach Noel Orcullo, as usual, speaking for Ramil de Jesus, said. “They should treat their opponents with respect every time.”
Maybe Orcullo was referring to a slight wobble in the second set, which was the only frame that was close, only for the star-studded La Salle roster to get the points from most everyone to pull it out of the fire.
“Our errors, as a team, were so evident,” Canino said in Filipino without necessarily elaborating. “That’s what gave UE their confidence, so we tried avoiding those.”
La Salle committed 20 errors.
“Our outcome today, for me, wasn’t perfect, even if we won,” Ocrullo said. “First off, we had a lot of errors. We need to work on them more.”
Lilay Del Castillo went on to chip in 10 points, while Laput contributed nine, with Eshana Nunag tallying 21 excellent sets in orchestrating the La Salle offense. She also had four points.
“That’s my role,” Nunag said when praised for her great effort. “That’s what I can do to help out.”
Khy Cepada was the sole double-digit scorer for the Lady Red Warriors with 14 points on 11 attacks, two aces and a block as UE lost a sixth straight game.
Meanwhile, Adamson stunned University of Santo Tomas, 27-25, 25-22, 25-12, later as Shaina Nitura delivered 22 points in the victory that very few thought would come as quickly.
“All of them contributed and they always followed our instructions,” Adamson coach JP Yude said proudly as his Soaring Falcons rose to 3-2 while snapping the Santo Tomas win streak at two games.
“Overall, I’m very glad and proud of how they played today because this is what we’ve been looking for from them,” Yude added.
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