ANGEL Canino rallied De La Salle University to a hard-fought 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27 victory over University of Santo Tomas, securing the twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Final Four playoff for the No. 2 seed, Wednesday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
With Canino leading the charge by posting 24 points on 19 attacks with 12 excellent receptions and 10 excellent digs, the Lady Spikers clinched the playoff incentive for the sixth time in nine seasons since UAAP Season 77.
De La Salle and UST are now set for their fourth Final Four clash in five seasons, with the matchup taking place at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Historically, teams armed with a twice-to-beat advantage have always emerged victorious in their postseason duels.
The Golden Tigresses took down the Lady Spikers in their Final Four encounters in Seasons 81 and 86, both times enjoying the twice-to-beat cushion. Meanwhile, top-seeded La Salle eliminated UST en route to their 12th UAAP women’s volleyball championship in Season 85.
This win also allowed La Salle to avoid a repeat of their painful loss in Season 81, when they fell to UST in a similar playoff for the No. 2 seed back on May 1, 2019, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
“Pinakita lang ng mga bata yung puso na gusto nilang manalo kaya siguro ganon yung naging resulta. Sabi nga namin sa kanila, hindi pa tapos yung laban, kaya pa natin dumikit. Bakit hindi natin tiyagain na kunin natin itong set at panalo na ito? Hanggang hindi umabot sa 25 points yung kalaban, huwag kayo bibitaw, kapitan niyo,” Lady Spikers assistant coach Noel Orcullo said.
(“The kids just showed the heart that they really wanted to win, and maybe that’s why we got that kind of result. As we told them, the game isn’t over yet—we can still catch up. So why not give it our all to take this set and the win? Until the opponent reaches 25 points, don’t give up—hold on.”)
The other Final Four pits defending champion National University and No. 4 Far Eastern University at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Big Dome. The Lady Bulldogs, who defeated the Tigresses in the final day of eliminations that dragged them in a playoff for No. 2, hold the twice-to-beat incentive against the Lady Tamaraws.
UST was on the brink of forcing a five set as two errors by Julyana Tolentino (service error) and Shevana Laput (attack error) sent La Salle down a 22-24 hole, but Alleiah Malaluan converted a timely kill block on Angge Poyos and an ace to force extended play.
From that point onward, the Lady Spikers weathered through three Golden Tigresses set points before finally tying the frame again at 27-all behind an off-the-block hit from Canino.
The Season 85 Rookie-MVP received ample support in the clutch to finish what she started as a Lilay del Castillo block and a backrow attack from Laput annexed La Salle’s hold on the No. 2 seed in a grueling two-hour and 45-minute affair.
After wasting four set points in the extended third set — the longest set of Season 77 with 43 minutes — which was marred by two service errors and set-tying attacks from Angge Poyos, Canino shined in the clutch, drilling the last two points La Salle needed — a combination play and a through-the-block attack — to take a crucial 2-1 sets advantage.
Aside from its composure in the clutch, La Salle lived up to its lofty billing in the block department, tallying 20 blocks compared to just eight for UST.
“This playoff was such a big opportunity for us. Despite everything that has happened in the elimination round, we were given this playoff chance. We were not gonna throw away this shot. We fought for this and we definitely put our hearts and everything out because we need this twice-to-beat [advantage],” Laput said, who ended the day with 22 points on 19 attacks.
Malaluan came through with 11 points, 10 excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs, while Amie Provido manned the net with 10 points built on a game-high five-block outing.
Tolentino tossed 20 excellent sets with one point, while Lyka de Leon flaunted her defensive capabilities with 21 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
Poyos paced the Golden Tigresses in the loss with a triple-double effort of 24 points, 13 excellent digs, and 12 excellent receptions, while Reg Jurado was limited to 12 points but tallied 13 excellent digs.
Carballo dished out 28 excellent sets, while team captain Detdet Pepito tallied 25 excellent digs and 15 excellent receptions.