De La Salle University suffered a sluggish start but recovered just in time to pull off a 17-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-22 win over Adamson University in Season 86 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) women’s volleyball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Shevana Laput was at her best while Julia Coronel chipped in significant numbers for the depleted Lady Spikers, who posted their 10th win in 12 matches to join National University and University of Santo Tomas in a three-way tie on top of the country’s most prestigious collegiate league.
But more than that, the Lady Spikers stayed on track for a twice-to-beat incentive entering the final stretch of the double-round eliminations as they have 29 points while NU and UST have 30 and 28 points, respectively.
‘No matter what happens, despite the injuries on the court, or if we lose a set, we always go back to our system, which has worked for 20 years.’
After all, UAAP rules have it that the points system will be the first tiebreaker method in a triple-tie. In a two-way tie, head-to-head results would be the basis.
Laput terrorized the net, firing 22 of her 24 points off attacks topped with two blocks while Coronel added 19 excellent sets along with five points built on three blocks and six digs.
La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo heaved a huge sigh of relief, especially after seeing La Salle struggle early as it missed the services of reigning Most Valuable Player Angel Canino and Jyne Soreno.
Canino, who was also named as last year’s top rookie, missed her fourth consecutive game due to arm injury while Soreno hurt her left arm injury late in the first after colliding with teammate Lyka de Leon while trying to dig a ball. She did not return and showed up wearing a sling.
“Actually, in the first set, their movements are so tentative. They are waiting for each other — no one wants to lead,” said Orcullo, whose wards surrendered the first set, 17-25, before catching fire in the succeeding sets.
“Good thing we won, we captured the second set. So, a win is still a win even if it was a bad game.”
Thea Gagate was also impressive, finishing 12 points built on nine hits and three blocks while Amie Provido uncorked eight markers while making life miserable for Adamson star Barbie Jamili at the attack zone.
Jamili was limited to only 11 points.
Laput said they showed that they really wanted to win despite the injuries that bother them.
“No matter what happens, despite the injuries on the court, or if we lose a set, we always go back to our system, which has worked for 20 years,” Laput said.
In the men’s division, Far Eastern University (FEU) fortified its chance to capture a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs after burying University of the East (UE), 25-17, 17-25, 28-26, 25-19.
Dryx Saavedra led the charging Tamaraws with 16 points off 15 hits before stepping up to shut down the Red Warriors’ rally in the latter part of the third set.
“We saw what UE did, they really fight for every single set, so kudos to them,” FEU head coach Eddieson Orcullo said.
The Red Warriors are now eliminated as they only manage to notch a single win in as many games while FEU prepares to keep its winning streak intact against University of the Philippines on 20 April.
Meanwhile, JM Ronquillo powered La Salle in keeping its Final Four hopes alive after tearing down Adamson, 26-24, 25-17, 25-23, in 92 minutes of action, to improve their slate to 9-3.
Despite the Soaring Falcons matching their foes’ firepower, 41-40, the Green Spikers just proved they were too much for them as Ronquillo finished with 18 points from 13 attacks, a block, and an ace.