La Salle eyes perfect title romp in SSL preseason volleyball
MANILA, Philippines – It may still be the big guns coming through for La Salle in the clutch, but the Lady Spikers underscored their team effort to stay unbeaten in preseason volleyball action.
“I know that it was a team effort. It’s always a team effort and not just one person who finishes the points and gets the MVP of the match. All of us are MVPs right now,” said La Salle stalwart Shevana Laput.
La Salle claimed the first finals seat in the 2024 Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship after outlasting the UST Golden Tigresses in an epic semifinal thriller, 26-28, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13, on Wednesday night, November 6, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Lady Spikers turned to Laput and Angel Canino in the home stretch of the fifth set to hurdle the Golden Tigresses in the knockout match and get another crack at the crown after a runner-up finish in the inaugural edition two years ago.
“I just knew I had to step up. I had to be there for my team and be that reliable player for them,” said Laput. “I hope that it showed in the court and I hope that my team will continue to rely on me and see me as an Ate (big sister) for them.”
La Salle — still undefeated after eight games — will face the winner of the other knockout semifinal duel between three-peat-seeking National University and unbeaten Far Eastern University.
The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Tamaraws collide at 6 pm on Saturday, November 8, also at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
Game 1 of the best-of-three championship is set on November 22.
Laput, the 2023 National Invitationals Most Valuable Player, scored 4 of her 19 points in the deciding frame, including back-to-back hits that kept the Lady Spikers at a safe distance late in the set against UST.
She finished with 15 attacks, 2 aces, and 2 blocks.
With UST closing in, 11-10, after trailing by three midway in the final frame, Laput took matters into her own hands, pounding down a kill to give La Salle more breathing room before answering UST star Angge Poyos’ missile with her version.
Canino then pushed the Lady Spikers at match point off a combination play, 14-11.
The Tigresses mounted one last hurrah with Poyos smashing an off-the-block kill, followed by La Salle’s last of 40 errors to save two match points.
But Canino quelled the uprising with a long hit that found an undefended area in the back row as the Lady Spikers got their revenge over the same squad that dethroned them in the UAAP Season 86 Final Four six months ago, also in a five-set decision.
Canino had 17 points highlighted by 16 kills, while Amie Provido played solid defense at the net with 4 kill blocks in a 12-point performance for La Salle.
UST will try to salvage a podium finish in a one-game battle for third against the loser of the other semis pairing.
Poyos led the Tigresses with 22 points, all from spikes, including 8 in the fourth to help her squad drag the match to a fifth set.
Regina Jurado and Jonna Perdido scored 10 each in a losing effort. – Rappler.com