BY ABBY TORALBA
FOR La Salle rookie hitter Angel Canino, individual accolades are just fine but her focus right now is nothing but the championship.
While leading the Lady Spikers to a 26-24, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19 win over University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday for a finals berth, Canino, 19, was surprised to hear the crowd “MVP, MVP!”
“Nagulat lang po ako na habang nag-seserve ako, nagcha-chant sila ng ganon (MVP). Hindi ko naman masyado iniisip (iyon), sinasabi ko lang sa sarili ko, focus lang, focus lang, hindi pa tapos iyong laban,” the 5-foot-11 spiker said. “Binabalewala ko lang po kung ano iyong sinasabi ng mga tao kasi naglalaro pa, hindi pa tapos iyong UAAP.”
Canino is the Rookie of the Year frontrunner and is also in the running for the coveted MVP award. But she insisted her goal is to help the Lady Spikers win the crown.
“Iyon po iyong goal namin sa team. Iyon po iyong goal ng bawat isa sa amin, na mag-champion. Hindi iyong mga individual awards. After niyan, doon na po namin mapapakita na ito kami, La Salle kami, kaya namin,” she said.
Standing between Canino, the Lady Spikers and the title are defending champion National University, which scored a 22-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-15 win over Adamson University to clinch the other finals berth.
The two squads clash in Game 1 of the best-of-three title duel this Sunday.
