THIS longstanding swagfest is about to have a winner.
For only the second time, UAAP rookie-MVPs Bella Belen and Angel Canino are out for blood against each other come the Season 87 women’s volleyball finals.
READ: Modern day rivalry? NU, DLSU meet for third time in four years
The league's first-ever rookie-MVP Belen and National U has won two of the last three UAAP titles — the first via historic 16-game tournament sweep of Season 84 for the school’s first title in 65 years.
Back then, Canino wasn’t in the equation yet.
The Lady Spikers stamped their mastery of the field, as has been the case for the last two decades, by spoiling the Lady Bulldogs’ title-retention bid through a rookie-MVP of their own in Canino.
NU went on to dispatch La Salle tormentor University of Santo Tomas in the Season 86 women’s volleyball finals through a two-game title series sweep.
This year, as Taft and Jhocson cross paths to complete a riveting championship trilogy, SPIN.ph chronicles the paths blazed by Belen and Canino en route to college volleyball stardom.
Belen, Jhocson’s belle of the ball
Since first grade, volleyball already ran in Belen’s blood.
It was at Lucas R. Pascual Memorial Elementary School in her hometown of Quezon City where the sporting dream began under the tutelage of longtime coach Henry Fernandez.
There, she began her volleyball journey as a libero to now-University of Santo Tomas captain and her good friend Detdet Pepito, who was actually once a spiker.
Belen went on to carve her path to Jhocson in high school as part of National University-Nazareth School (NUNS), one of the country’s most heralded junior volleyball programs today.
There, she’d team up with a handful of today’s volleyball aces in Thea Gagate, Faith Nisperos and a huge chunk of her past and present Lady Bulldogs teammates in Alyssa Solomon, Vange Alinsug, Erin Pangilinan, Sheena Toring, Lams Lamina, Jen Nierva and more.
In six UAAP seasons in the juniors’ division, Belen and the NUNS Lady Bullpups won five — including a historic four-peat from Seasons 77 to 80.
Twice she’d win season MVP along with a best outside hitter plum in her final juniors season in 2020.
Along that UAAP ride came a breakthrough Palarong Pambansa stint in 2019 where she steered National Capital Region (NCR) to the girls’ volleyball championship topped by a best attacker nod.
And at just 22 years old, she already carries international pedigree with multiple stints for flag and country over the years.
The Alas Pilipinas ace was part of the country’s silver-winning team in the 2019 Asean School Games in Semarang, Indonesia and is a two-time SEA V.League bronze medalist in 2024.
Over in the college ranks, this National U psychology major has gone and shown the rest of the league why and how she became the UAAP’s first women’s volleyball rookie-MVP.
Emblazoned on the 5-foot-8 star winger’s name thus far are a pair of UAAP championships, MVP awards and best outside hitter nods along with four preseason titles and best outside hitter nods in Shakey’s Super League (SSL) preseason play.
Born and raised in the metro, Belen is out to flex her multi-awarded championship mettle to keep the crown on her side of the city capital as she bids the UAAP farewell by season’s end.
Canino, Taft’s heaven-sent angel
The 12-time UAAP women’s volleyball champions showed that two can play the rookie-MVP game with a homegrown and ‘heaven-sent Angel’ of their own.
From the shores of Bacolod to the streets of Manila, Canino had herself a long and winding road to becoming the modern-day face of the Lady Spikers.
It was at Bacolod Tay Tung High School — a star-making juniors volleyball program of its own — where the 5-foot-11 ace spiker’s sporting journey first went into full swing.
She’d then make the move to the metro as part of a girls’ volleyball powerhouse in De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ).Her breakout UAAP Season 81 campaign denied Belen and NUNS’ five-peat bid as Canino seized the crown back to DLSZ to culminate a promising juniors’ career highlighted by a championship, a bronze medal and two best outside hitter distinctions.
Canino also once owned the Palarong Pambansa stage for NCR in 2018 — a year before Belen took over — and similarly won the best outside hitter award.
In the college ranks, the rookie-MVP duo also share being former SSL best outside hitters with a runner-up finish under her belt.
From the national to the international stage, Canino and Belen also share an abundant array of experience in overseas play.
La Salle's third-year American Studies major saw action for flag and country at the 2019 Women’s Volleyball Kor Royal Cup in Thailand and would then team up with Belen in the Philippine team that won silver at the 2019 Asean School Games.
Most recently, the 21-year-old ace won best opposite hitter in her first Alas Pilipinas stint away from her natural playing role in the 2024 AVC Challenge Cup for Women on home soil.
Her first two UAAP seasons as a Lady Spiker was first a breakthrough and redemption tale before being a story of heartbreak and what-ifs.
Canino’s mid-season arm injury saw her sidelined for five games in their Season 86 title defense and would ultimately lead to a rare bronze medal finish for La Salle.
Now on her second crack at championship glory against National U, Canino aims to essay a similar ending than that of her first championship showdown with Belen and the Lady Bulldogs.
Her goal is plain and simple yet easier said than done: bring Taft back on top.
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