BY ANDREI BARRANTES
ON paper, a Saturday game match between La Salle and Adamson may look like a cakewalk for the former, seeing as it boasts one of the most formidable cores, alongside a legendary coach in Ramil de Jesus.
But a cakewalk was far from what transpired at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, as though the Taft-based squad achieved the set sweep, they did so with hard-earned scores of 25-21, 26-24, and 25-20.
At the forefront of that surprising opposition is rising rookie Shaina Nitura, who bolstered 16 points, all but one strictly on attacks.
Not only did the homegrown spiker deliver another impressive stat line following her historic rookie debut record, but she also outscored her DLSU counterpart Angel Canino, who chipped in 14 points and six digs in their bounce-back win.
In the post-game presser, the Season 85 MVP lauded Nitura’s performance, seeing her as anything but a rookie.
“Actually, pinahirapan kami niyan sa preparations pa lang, pinahirapan niya kami kasi sabi nga ni coach Ramil, ang dami niyang variations as a player and sobrang tapang ni Nitura na kahit sino iharap mo, kayang kaya niya gawan ng paraan,” Canino said.
RDJ left impressed as well
La Salle head coach Ramil De Jesus, on the other hand, can’t imagine just how good she’ll be in the coming years.
“‘Yung bata, bata pa talaga pero grabe maglaro. Grabe ‘yung instinct, makikita mo ‘yung court IQ niya sobrang taas. At the same time, ‘yung leadership niya talagang siguro pagdating ng sophomore or junior year nito ibang klase na ‘tong batang ‘to sobra,” he added.
With only two collegiate games under her belt so far, it’s eye-opening to see all the compliments and notoriety that Nitura has been receiving for her stellar performances.
While there’s really no telling what the future holds for Nitura and how she’ll develop further, one thing is for sure – she’s already an early favorite to win the Rookie of the Year race.
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