La Salle Lady Spiker celebrates after beating UST Golden Tigers in Final 4 and then advance to the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Final. –Marlo Cueto/Inquirer.net
MANILA, Philippines — When La Salle returned to the final after picking sweet revenge at Santo Thomas University, Angel Canino urged Ladies Spykers to bring pride to the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Championship Series.
Kanino poured 19 points as two Rasar eliminated the pain of the last four of last year. This came in a 25-22, 11-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory at Smart Araneta Koroshum on Saturday night.
As for the Lady Spiker start, it’s all about supporting the standard set as 12-time champion coach Ramil de Jesus has made his third final in four seasons and faces familiar enemies at national universities.
Read: UAAP: Championship calm with bids from 2 times to beats La Salle Banking
“‘Ako Ay starts with pride.’ I think the most important thing going into the final is that La Salle players are proud,” Canino said.
“It’s part of Coach Ramil’s legacy that has been built over the years. As a female spiker, you have to cherish that identity. When you’re in the finals, you need to bring value that you can share with your team.
La Salle Lady Spikers legendary coach Lamil de Jesus during the UAAP season 87 women’s volleyball final four. –Marlo Cueto/Inquirer.net
De Jesus led La Salle to their 21st final.
La Salle previously lost to NU in the final of Season 84, and Canino’s rookie MVP run won the title in 2023. However, they abdicated to UST in the final four last year.
Read: UAAP: Angel Canino says “I expect a lot from me” in La Salle’s title bid
In his third year, Canino was excited to redeem himself.
“UST is by no means an easy opponent. They are known for their solid defense and don’t give up regardless of their score. They wanted that, so they had to fight for every point,” Canino said. “But we wanted that more. We have a goal for this team.”
Game 1 of the Championship Series between NU and La Salle will be set for Sunday at the Big Dome next week.
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“This is just the beginning of what they call a real fight, so we need to prepare and improve what needs to be improved,” Canino said.
