De La Salle University made sure that it won’t need to use its twice-to-beat advantage to clinch a championship seat after booting out University of Santo Tomas, 26-24, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 women’s volleyball Final Four yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Usual suspects rookie Angel Canino and veteran Jolina de la Cruz came out firing on all cylinders to lead the Lady Spikers to their second straight finals appearance and 20th overall.
La Salle will face in the best-of-three finals the survivor between No. 2 seed defending champion National University and Adamson University in its search for its 12th title and first since winning it all back in 2018.
The top seed savored the sweet taste of revenge over the only team that has beaten La Salle so far in the competition.
The victory finally banished the ghost of Season 81 that has haunted the Lady Spikers for five years when the Tigresses sent them packing in the semifinals, effectively denying them a four-peat.
“Happy that we redeemed ourselves from our loss to them in the second round. Now we’re back in the Finals but it’s not yet over. We still have a long way to go,” La Salle assistant coach Noel Orcullo said.
Canino, who is tipped to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards, scored 19 points with all but one coming off hits and had 10 digs for the Lady Spikers.
De la Cruz delivered 10 points while Thea Gagate, who had five kill blocks, and Alleiah Malaluan posted nine each for La Salle.
Shevana Laput got eight points while Justine Jaazareno displayed solid floor defense with 22 digs and 16 excellent receptions.
The Lady Spikers used the momentum of their comeback attempt that fell short in the third set to pull away early in the fourth frame, building a 14-7 lead.
Eya Laure, outgoing Milena Alessandrini and Imee Hernandez tried to will UST back in the game but would not be denied another shot at the crown.
Malaluan pushed La Salle at match point, 24-19, before Gagate’s game-winning kill block on Alessandrini.
“At least we’re able to build momentum going into the fourth set. We’re able to rally back and closed the gap to two although we committed an error in the end,” Orcullo said.
“Going into the fourth, we said we’ll bounce back.”
La Salle held on in the nip-and-tuck opening set after Laure tied the frame at 24 with back-to-back kills. Canino shattered the deadlock with a hit before Fifi Sharma scored a kill block with a timely denial on Laure’s powerful hammer.
UST survived a spirited rally by La Salle in the third set that cut its 19-10 deficit to just 22-20 after Laure sent her service long followed by Pia Abbu’s tip that went short.
Babyjne Soreno committed an attack error before the Tigresses avoided a sweep on a Regina Jurado kill and a well-timed block of Hernandez on Malaluan.
Laure, who has yet to decide if she will return next season, ended her campaign with 15 points, 12 digs and 11 excellent receptions for UST.
Hernandez scored 12 points while Alessandrini, in her last UAAP game, tallied eight.
