MANILA, Philippines – Coming off their worst UAAP season start since 2006, the La Salle Lady Spikers are back on the winning track after taking down the reeling UP Fighting Maroons in four rollercoaster sets, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, March 2.
Former MVP Angel Canino had her best outing in the early goings of Season 87 with 24 big points on 20 attacks and 4 blocks, while partner-in-crime Shevana Laput was no slouch with 21 markers of her own, as both sides evened out in the standings with 2-2 records.
“Actually, there’s no weak team right now in the UAAP. Everyone is a challenge to face,” La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo said in Filipino. “Every team is at a high level so you can’t say they’re weak. You have to challenge yourself to overcome what your opponents give you.”
Reeling off a disappointing second-set giveaway that featured back-to-back attack errors from Canino and Laput to gift UP a 1-1 equalizer, La Salle fell further in the third, going down 8-3 on the coattails of UP’s scorching momentum.
The vaunted contending program, however, showed why it never stays for long on the back end of any standings ladder as Canino and Laput led a stunning 22-10 turnaround to seize the 2-1 lead, 25-18.
The same high-power offense manifested itself in the fourth, as La Salle broke away from a 16-15 edge with a massive 8-1 breakaway, ending with an Amie Provido block for match point, 25-16. Joan Monares’s run-stopper point proved futile as a booming Laput backrow hit sealed UP’s fate for good.
Irah Jaboneta paced the Maroons’ second-straight loss with 15 points, followed by 11 from Monares. – Rappler.com