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MANILA, Philippines – The best-of-three UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball finals kick off on Sunday, May 11, pitting the defending champion NU Lady Bulldogs against the powerhouse La Salle Lady Spikers.
Unlike past decades, La Salle comes in as the underdog again versus NU, a year after the Lady Spikers got ousted in the Final Four by arch rival UST Golden Tigresses.
Former rookie MVP Angel Canino was unable to repeat as champion as she missed a large chunk of Season 86 due to a freak injury on her spiking hand.
However, another star emerged for La Salle in Shevana Laput, who just started playing organized volleyball back in Season 85, and had since blossomed into a formidable MVP candidate, currently second to NU star and two-time winner Bella Belen.
La Salle barged into the finals again this season after knocking out UST in a virtual best-of-three affair, winning the playoff, then the Final Four matchup, 25-22, 11-25, 25-21, 25-21, behind the interior presence of Amie Provido.
Rappler interviewed former La Salle captain and current PVL setter Julia Coronel and UP volleyball program director Oliver Almadro to propose why La Salle can claim its 13th women’s volleyball championship.
Blocking
La Salle’s interior presence, particularly from Provido, will be key for the team to gain the upper hand against NU.
Topping the league in blocking, La Salle could use its wide advantage in that department if they want to negate the powerful wing attacks from NU’s Belen and Alyssa Solomon.
“If La Salle will make sure they will really serve well, [blocking] will be a big factor for them,” Almadro explained.
Meanwhile, Coronel, who is also an analyst for the UAAP broadcast on Cignal, pointed out that NU was able to negate La Salle’s blocking in both wins.
During the two games, NU was able to hold La Salle to just 4 blocks against NU’s 6 in the first match, and 8 blocks against NU’s 10 in the second.
“They weren’t able to utilize their middles well, that’s why NU dominated La Salle like it was,” said Coronel, who is also a playmaker for Alas Pilipinas.
With the middle providing scoring, this could open the wings, where Canino and Laput are able to operate.
Established and upcoming stars
Star power is behind La Salle’s winning formula over the past few years, and the team has been blessed to have some of the greatest players the league has ever seen.
The Lady Spikers will have two of the top scorers today, Canino and Laput, who poured in 307 and 281 points, respectively, to emerge as the highest-scoring duo during the elimination round.
Canino, who was already wreaking havoc in Bacolod before coming to play for La Salle Zobel, was already coming in as an established star, but Laput wasn’t.
Shortly before the pandemic started in 2020, Laput, then a track and field athlete, was convinced by legendary head coach Ramil de Jesus to try volleyball and got better through home training.
By the time Season 85 rolled along, she was already contributing as a rookie.
“Her growth has been exponential over these past years. And that also really speaks a lot about her attitude then, her attitude towards the sport, and her dedication to really learning,” said Coronel.
“She’s been a sponge all throughout, she really absorbs the instructions given to her.”
After a nightmare Season 86 where Canino never really got to play much and the team was ousted quickly in the Final Four by UST, the Lady Spikers seem to play with more grit this time around.
“You see their growth, they have a different kind of hunger,” said Coronel.
“It’s different when you’re watching them, especially if you’re coming from that same system, and overall,” noted Coronel, adding that decision-making is getting better by the day.
Canino was able to make this evident when she rode on an adrenaline rush, overcoming an inadvertent Laput knee to her neck in helping La Salle squeak by UST in five sets, 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-21, 16-14, last March 29.
“Angel is such a strong person. Very strong mentally… we need that as a team captain from her,” Laput said after that game.
Reception and service
Battling for the first ball would be Belen, the league’s most accurate server at 0.52 aces per set, and Lyka de Leon, La Salle’s starting libero, who topped the UAAP women’s tournament at receiving efficiency with 46.51%.
As a dynamo on defense, De Leon already knows how to read the NU offense, as she was already manning the taraflex during La Salle’s Season 85 title campaign.
Moreover, it would take the burden off setters Mikole Reyes and Jules Tolentino, who have been described by the coach as “shaky” at times.
“As we can see, [La Salle players] have been relying on combination attacks,” said Almadro.
“If they could maintain their consistency and reception, they can maximize their height and the middle blockers’ intensity.”
Service, where La Salle stands second behind NU, will be important, as the first ball could determine where the ball will fly.
Individually, Laput ranks just behind Belen as the league’s best server at 0.37 aces per set, which could send the ball awry.
With a well-placed La Salle serve, NU’s reception could provide a window for the Lady Spikers’ middle blockers to spring into action.
“They don’t have to choose, if there’s no good reception, they should have good service, and if La Salle will serve really hard and really smart, it will give a huge edge in blocking,” said Almadro.
Veteran coaching
Ramil de Jesus has been synonymous with the program for its entire run of success.
He has led La Salle to its 21st finals appearance this season, winning 12 titles in the process.
The steady presence and consistent approach for the players to buy into his formula has led to a culture that is widely respected in the Philippine volleyball community.
“Coach Ramil has brought a culture to La Salle, he has his culture on how to win important games,” said Almadro.
“Pag nagkaroon ng pitipitan (sa laro) si coach Ramil, may kultura na-i-instill sa La Salle,” he continued.
(If the game gets extremely close, we will see coach Ramil’s culture instilled in La Salle)
“Coach Ramil wins and loses with this culture; it’s not a matter of questions anymore.”
Coronel also shared that de Jesus has a special emphasis on winning important games, and puts in special assignments for his players before the affair.
“He would gather the team for more bonding moments,” recalled Coronel.
“I remember he would make us watch certain movies to prepare us mentally for the game, especially since these are the finals,” she continued, adding that the longtime coach would give out pep talks.
As part of setting the tone prior to the season, he would also make players write their goals on a blackboard, to help the players remind themselves of a thing they want to achieve down the road. – Rappler.com
