LA Salle and its ace rookie Angel Canino were sleepwalking early against Adamson University. Interim coach Noel Orcullo’s reminders proved to be what they needed to get their acts together in time yesterday.
Shrugging off an opening set hiccup, the Lady Spikers brought down the Lady Falcons 22-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 for their sixth straight win and remained unscathed in the 85th UAAP women’s volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
Canino shone anew for La Salle with 21 points and 17 excellent receptions, while Jolina Dela Cruz added 10 markers.
Thea Gagate and Fifi Sharma also had 16 and 12 points, respectively, as the Lady Spikers scored a fitting follow-up to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-21 triumph over Far Eastern University nine days ago and hiked their mark to 6-0.
Adamson, coming off a 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 win over Ateneo last Sunday, slipped to 4-2.
“Iyong first set medyo sobrang shaky ang start namin siguro dahil medyo nangangapa si Angel (Canino), ilang days din siya hindi naka-pagtraining dahil under the weather,” Orcullo said. “Pinaalalahanan ko lang naman after ng first set na bumalik dahil kailangan so iyon nagising siguro.”
In the other match, the Blue Eagles turned back University of the Philippines 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 to snap a four-game losing streak. Ateneo improved to 2-5 while UP fell to 1.5
In the NCAA, defending champion College of St. Benilde whipped Jose Rizal University 25-10, 25-21, 25-13 to complete an eliminations sweep and gain an outright finals berth in the 98th NCAA women’s volleyball tournament at the San Andres Sports Complex.
Gayle Pascual dazzled with 16 points for the Lady Blazers, while Michelle Gamit and Zamantha Nolasco contributed 10 markers apiece.
The stepladder semifinals will feature Perpetual Help, Lyceum, and Mapua University.
Earlier, the Lady Altas clinched the second seed after bringing down the Lady Cardinals 25-16, 25-19, 25-17. — With Abby Toralba
