MANILA – De La Salle University Lady Spikers showed steadiness in the endgame to oust University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, 26-28, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13, in the semifinals of the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship on Wednesday night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Shevana Laput finished with 19 points, built on 15 attacks, two blocks, and two service aces, to be named Player of the Game as the Lady Spikers moved on to the best-of-three finals.
“For me, po, I think I need to step up, to be there for my team, to be that reliable player, and I hope that it showed on the court, and I hope my team will continue to rely on me,” Laput said in a post-game interview.
She added: “Of course, we are super happy that we made bawi (to the Golden Tigresses), but of course this is just a pre-season; this is just a stepping stone to what we can show in the UAAP.”
Negrense Angel Canino also made her presence felt with 17 markers for the Lady Spikers, which will face either National University Lady Bulldogs or Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws in the title series.
Holding to a slim 12-11 lead in the fifth set, the Lady Spikers took a 13-11 advantage on a block touch conversion by Laput before moving to match point at 14-11 on a connection by Katrina del Castillo.
The Golden Tigresses responded with back-to-back conversions from Angeline Poyos to cut the deficit to 13-14, but the Lady Spikers responded with a powerful hit from Canino to seal the win.
The Golden Tigresses, on the other hand, were relegated to the bronze medal game with the semifinals defeat.
Meanwhile, the College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers scored a 25-19, 25-14, 25-20 victory over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the classification round match. Chenae Basarte led the Lady Blazers with 10 points./PN
