By MARK REY MONTEJO
The animosity and desire to beat each other were there for everyone to see, but clearly, La Salle remained the dominant one over bitter rival Ateneo, at least for the moment.
In another stunning display of firepower, the Lady Spikers ended the Lady Eagles’ three-game winning run with a masterful 25-21, 25-17, 25-20 win, a feat that firmed up their hold of solo second in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, April 2.
Coming off a hard-fought five-set win over University of Santo Tomas, the Lady Spikers made their craving clear right away, coming off with excellent combinations to dictate the game.
It was a double-celebration for the Taft-based school as the Archers survived the Eagles, 21-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 27-25, in a match that lasted 2-hour and 19-minute.
“Masaya naman ako sa naging performance nila… talagang sumunod lang sila sa gameplan,” said DLSU head coach Ramil de Jesus.
“Actually, ito lang rule namin na makabawi kami sa second round hanggang sa dulo,” he added. “Kaya sana magtuloy-tuloy na.”
Aside from bolstering its twice-to-beat bid with a 7-3 slate, it also marked La Salle’s 16th straight win over Ateneo since 2017 or in Season 79.
Angel Canino was business all game-long, showing no ill-effects to a freak accident with teammate Shevana Laput the last time as she fired 16 points – all attacks – apart from posting seven excellent digs and six excellent receptions.
Laput was equally impressive with 16 points and were Amie Provido, Kat Del Castillo, and Alleiah Malaluan who added nine, eight, and seven points, respectively.
Rookie playmaker Mikole Reyes also impressed with 10 excellent sets for the Taft-based squad.
AC Miner (13) and Lyann De Guzman (10) were the only double-digit scorers for Ateneo which slipped to 4-6 – their semis bid now in peril.
In men’s side, UST flexed its might and made quick work of Adamson, 25-12, 25-18, 25-18, for its back-to-back wins that hiked its record to 6-4.
Two-time UAAP MVP Josh Ybañez spearheaded UST’s high-octane offense with 13 points off 12 attacks and one block with two excellent digs and nine excellent receptions.
Jan Macam and Jay De La Noche backed him up with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
