Nitura wraps up season to remember

Shaina Nitura of Adamson University closed her first University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season with a collection of accomplishments never before seen in league history.

The 20-year-old rookie-captain delivered an unprecedented 371 total points — built on 333 attacks, 25 blocks, and 13 aces — to wrap up Season 87, highlighted by the Lady Falcons’ 25-13, 25-21, 25-18 victory over the University of the Philippines (UP) on Sunday at the close of the elimination round.

Nitura’s remarkable scoring output not only powered Adamson’s 6-8 campaign but also rewrote the UAAP record books.

Her tally eclipsed the previous women’s single-season scoring mark set by Ateneo legend Alyssa Valdez, who tallied 312 points in Season 77. Incredibly, Nitura’s total also surpassed the men’s record, breaking University of Santo Tomas (UST) star Mark Alfafara’s 344-point haul from just a season ago.

While the Lady Falcons narrowly missed a Final Four berth, Nitura’s performances across 14 matches firmly established her name as among the greats of Philippine collegiate volleyball.

Right from the tournament opener, she made her presence felt by scoring 33 points in Adamson’s five-set win over Ateneo to set a new single-game rookie scoring record.

That early explosion surpassed the 31-point outing set by UST’s Angge Poyos, a feat Poyos herself achieved three times during her rookie year.

Nitura would go on to deliver six 30-point games throughout the season — a feat never before accomplished in UAAP volleyball.