LAST season’s runner-up La Salle and Far Eastern University clash to cap a Valentine’s Day offering to usher in a new UAAP women’s volleyball season today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Incidentally, it was the Lady Spikers and the Lady Tamaraws who faced off in the league’s most recent Feb. 14 match-up in 2018, when the Taft-based side won in five sets against their Morayta counterparts.
The La Salle-FEU clash is set at 3 p.m.
University of the Philippines, also playing in Valentine’s Day for the first time since 2018 when it lost to Adamson in straight sets, and University of the East opens curtains at 1 p.m.
FEU, last season’s men’s runner-up, will go up against La Salle at 11 a.m., right after UP and UE open the curtains at 9 a.m.
La Salle, which last won in 2023, is aching to end back-to-back misses behind veterans Angel Canino, Shevana Laput and Amie Provido, while FEU aims to go deeper after a string of fourth place runs behind Congo’s Faida Bakanke, Gerz Petallo and Jaz Ellarina.
Noel Orcullo, coach Ramil de Jesus’ long-time trusted lieutenant, knows that the Lady Spikers will have to grind it out to to reclaim the throne with other teams’ strong off-season build-ups.
“Yun nga, gaya ng sabi ko, walang madaling kalaban ngayon. Lahat mahirap. ‘Yung iba, bago ‘yung coaches, bago ‘yung sistema. So talagang paghahandaan na lang bawat team. So expect na lang talaga na hindi magiging madali ‘yung mga panalo,” Orcullo said.
A fit Laput is ready to make strides this year not only in her game but being the skipper of La Salle’s ship.
“Of course, I am embracing it with a lot of hope and a lot of happiness. Of course, even though I am the captain at the end of the day, it’s not only me leading this team. I still do have my batchmates. I still have Amie, Angel, Lyka (de Leon, libero), all four of us are leading this team this season,” Laput, last year’s top opposite spiker, said.
Canino, who with Laput, Provido and De Leon is also in her fourth year, was the second-best scorer behind Adamson’s Shai Nitura last season, with her experience with Alas Pilipinas will come into handy.
Veteran settter Tin Ubaldo is aware of the magnitude of the Lady Tamaraws’ expectations to move up in the standings.
“I expect this season na talagang makuha namin yung goal namin. Kasi last season, diba nga nag fall short kami, parang triple tie. Pero kami yung pinaka-mababang quotient… Kaya, doon po kami very nanghinayang, kasi parang points na lang yung paglalabanan, and then kami pa yung last doon. So, ngayon, talagang mag-work hard kami para mapunta sa FEU,” Ubaldo said.
Fabio Menta, the newly-appointed UP mentor, is focusing on what he has right now.
Joan Monares is ruled out for the first round due to injury, but the Fighting Maroons still have a stacked roster behind decorated middle blocker Niña Ytang, Irah Jaboneta and Kianne Olango. Casiey Dongallo, Jelai Gajero and Kizzie Madriaga will finally make their UP debut after completing their one-year residency.
“Yeah, well, I always tell the players on paper it’s okay. But we always play on court, so it’s different from the paper. Basically, our focus is on improving the tactics. The girls were already a good team. Last year, they slayed some giants. So we’re trying to complete the process with a more… I would call it more modern volleyball. So we have a different approach. We’re much faster than last year, and we hope that that is enough to get into the Final Four,” Menta said.
The Lady Warriors will parade 11 rookies, with new captain Van Bangayan, Khy Cepada and libero Angge Reyes guiding the young crew.
Dryx Saavedra, last year’s No. 4 scorer, is determined to help FEU rebound from last season’s heartbreaking Finals defeat to National University.
“Lagi naman namin napapagusapan ‘eh, kahit sinasabi nila na kalimutan na, syempre magiging fuel din namin yan as motivation na dapat yung lahat may same eagerness na hindi na mangyari ulit yung ganon. Iniisip namin yung mga lapses namin last season, tsaka big thing din yung na-experience namin maglaro sa Finals last season ‘eh. ‘Yon yung pinanghahawakan namin na sana ngayong Season 88, dala dala namin,” Saavedra said.
For the Green Spikers, fourth placers in the last four seasons, there’s no way but to move up with Chris Hernandez and Rui Ventura expected to fill the huge void by last year’s top scorer Noel Kampton and Vince Maglinao.
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