Canino banners top collegiate spikers

ANGEL Canino will be hailed as among the best spikers when the Collegiate Press Corps holds its Annual Awards Night on Monday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UAAP
Angel Canino of De La Salle University, Leo Ordiales of National University (NU), Letran College’s Lara Silva, and College of Saint Benilde’s Reymark Betco will be feted as the Volleyball Players of the Year in the 2026 Collegiate Press Corps (CPC) Awards Night presented by Strong Group Athletics on 29 June at Discovery Suites Manila in Pasig.
For their outstanding performances in leading their respective squads to the promised land, the duo of Canino and Ordiales are set to receive the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Volleyball Players of the Year awards, while Silva and Betco will be honored as the National Collegiate Athletic Association Volleyball Players of the Year by the collegiate sports organization made up of print and online reporters covering the campus beat.
Numbers don’t lie for both Canino and Ordiales this season, especially in the UAAP Season 88 volleyball finals series, where both players made huge impacts on their respective teams’ campaigns.
In Game 1 of the women’s finals, Canino displayed her heroics for the Lady Spikers with 17 points, nine digs, and five excellent receptions in La Salle’s sweep of NU, then continued her all-around brilliance in Game 2 with 11 points, 10 digs, and 10 receptions in another straight-set victory.
The veteran spiker also held the fort when La Salle missed the services of Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Shevana Laput early in the season, setting the stage for the Lady Spikers’ perfect 16-0 campaign.
Ordiales was once again the steady anchor of the Bulldogs in the men’s championship series, dropping 22 points in NU’s five-set triumph against top-ranked Far Eastern University in Game 1 before erupting for 24 markers in Game 2 en route to the Finals MVP citation.
It was La Salle’s 13th overall UAAP title, ending a two-season title drought, while NU captured its seventh overall UAAP crown, extending its active six-peat title streak.
Silva and Betco, on the other hand, will also be recognized for their exemplary contributions to Letran’s and Benilde’s respective NCAA championship runs in the annual awards night.
Silva, a three-time NCAA Best Libero, proved her worth in the NCAA Season 101 women’s finals series against Benilde, tallying 37 digs in Letran’s five-set win in Game 1. She then listed 24 digs and seven receptions in a straight-set loss in Game 2.
