Take it from Alyssa, Nitura could be the best the UAAP has seen in a while
Shaina Nitura has already made heads turn just seven games into her maiden UAAP women’s volleyball tournament.
Shattering the rookie scoring record right in her first game and then the all-time scoring mark set by two superstars who are now pro legends, the Adamson star is certainly showing the potential to be great.
But does it end there?
“I think she’ll be even better than me,” Alyssa Valdez, who, as a second year Ateneo star in Season 75 scored 35 points in a five-set loss to Adamson, told the Inquirer over the phone, her voice when talking about Nitura laced with a lot of glee.
Nitura first broke University of Santo Tomas’ Angge Poyos’ rookie scoring record of 32 points, before dropping 38 points in a loss to the University of the Philippines last Sunday to end the first round of eliminations.
“She’s a more rounded player compared to me when I was a rookie at Ateneo,” Valdez, for a long time the face of women’s volleyball in the country, went on. “She’s destined for even greater things. I love watching her play.”
Valdez said that she never doubted that the record she shared with ex-University of Santo Tomas dynamo Sisi Rondina would someday be eclipsed.
Game has elevated
“Not at all,” she said, before pointing out the reason.“The way these girls play today is several notches higher than the way we did [back in the day],” Valdez continued. “It’s a far different collegiate game we have now. You can see that their play has been elevated.”
Nitura came from the successful Adamson high school program and is the reason why the Lady Falcons could be a force in the future despite seeing some of their stars leave the team before the season.
Wearing goggle-like glasses and sporting a long ponytail, the lanky Nitura indeed stands out starting from the way she looks.
Her wicked wallops will then do the talking on the court, which makes up a little for the way she has decided to stay away from granting interviews after Adamson has lost its last five games.
But she could still be the darling of the tournament, much in the way when Bella Belen arrived for National U, when Angel Canino started her career at La Salle, and when Poyos dominated last year in helping the Growling Tigresses finish second.
The league needs players like Nitura to keep on coming, and if what Valdez is saying holds, expect that record to be broken again.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she again [breaks it],” Valdez said. “Or any other player in the league, because the level of play has really improved.”
