Daily Tribune
Shevana Laput smashes her way to give De La Salle University a spot in the finals. | Photograph Courtesy Of Ssl
Sophomore Shevana Laput only has one way of paying off the trust given her by De La Salle University: Winning.
Late Friday, she punched in 23 points including 16 kills, landed six aces and had one block in the Lady Spikers' fourth straight win that gave them ticket to the best-of-three finals.
"It's an honor really. But it really just shows that even though there is that trust it doesn't mean that it's a given. I still have to work really hard for that position," the 6-foot-2 standout said.
The Filipino-Australian winger displayed great character and composure in the fourth and the deciding frame against University of Santo Tomas.
The Lady Spikers needed to save three match points in the fourth set and seven in the fifth before pulling off the escape, 22-25, 25-18, 14-25, 26-24, 26-24, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
La Salle will battle Adamson University in the finals of the 2023 Shakey's Super League National Invitationals beginning Wednesday.
The Most Valuable Player award frontrunner was grateful for the trust of her team especially in the endgame of the long and exhausting fifth set.
"I know she wants to be there, we timed our substitution well. She's the one inside and we have to deal with it. We trust in what she can do," La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo said.
The reigning University Athletic Association of the Philippines champions faced a tough foe in UST but Laput felt that the Lady Spikers were the hungrier team.
"For all of us, it was just, 'We want this more. We need this more. We want the finals more.' Just like what coach said, we are the (UAAP) champions we need to play with pride," Laput said.
The towering spiker has been consistently crunching in the numbers leading La Salle on offense.
She, however, acknowledged the need for the Lady Spikers to work on their chemistry and communication inside the court, especially after the departure of veterans Jolina Dela Cruz, Fifi Sharma and Mars Alba.
La Salle is also playing sans UAAP Season 85 MVP Angel Canino and top libero Justine Jazareno.
"It just showed that we really need to improve together as a team and form more connections with each other. It took 'puso' (for us to get the win)," Laput pointed out.
