THE NEXT LEVEL
La Salle has laid the foundations going into the Final Four of the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
Now, the Lady Spikers just have to finish the job.
“The fight is not yet over. We only got the twice-to-beat but we’re on our way to the actual semifinals [despite] having the advantage,” assistant coach Noel Orcullo said in Filipino.
The Lady Spikers delivered a masterful 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27 victory in the latest installment of their storied rivalry against University of Santo Tomas on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
By tearing down the Golden Tigresses for the second consecutive time this season, La Salle moved up to the No. 2 spot below National University, both teams protected by their hard-earned semifinal bonus.
When the two teams officially clash in Game 1 of their playoff pairing on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, La Salle will have the psychological edge against Santo Tomas hugely because of its splendid net defense.
The women in green seemed to have a peek at the future, effectively blunting whatever the Tigresses fired toward them before it caused more damage thanks to their 20 blocks.
Those who made the Tigresses think twice in the offense include skipper Angel Canino and Lilay del Castillo, pitching in four blocks apiece, Alleiah Malaluan contributed three, Shevana Laput added two while Amie Provido looked like the tallest player inside after stopping five kills.
“We tell them that blocking is not all about height. It’s all about timing,” Orcullo said. “How to read the setter, how she will set the ball and how the [opponent] will attack.
“Whatever the spiker is thinking about, you need to be able to read it to time the block well,” he added. “What we are training for in blocking mattered and showed now.”
Well-oiled machine
While the La Salle defense hummed like a well-oiled machine, the offense also got to work as coach Ramil de Jesus maximized his setters Julyana Tolentino and Mikole Reyes.
Tolentino and Reyes scattered 20 and 13 excellent sets, respectively, to effectively activate the Lady Spikers.
“We fought for this. We definitely put our hearts out, everything, because we know we need this twice-to-beat,” Laput said. “This is our best opportunity and of course, I’m super proud of all of us. We all contributed to this win.”
“If we get lucky [on Saturday], then this is our destiny,” Orcullo said. “We just need to hold on to what we need to do to win … If [the players] will bring the team to the Finals, that’s up to you.”
