CHICAGO - A pregnancy. Academic deficiencies. And the wild, varying versions of an undisclosed injury.
With all the salacious rumors surrounding her, it's a wonder that 20-year Angel Canino hadn't lost her wings.
Confined to the injured list, she still dutifully shows up on La Salle's games, impervious to the searing spotlight and unwanted attention.
But just because Angel has shown grace and grit beyond her years doesn't mean she has to endure being tossed around in the cruel mosh pit social media has become.
Sadly, annoyingly, the Lady Spikers aren't doing their best player and the face of their program any favors.
By continuing to refuse to issue an official statement to explain the nature and extent of Canino's injury, La Salle knowingly left the door open for a flood of nonsense and innuendos.
The carnage of gossip has forced Angel's mom, Sol, to ask netizens in a Facebook post to refrain from spreading lies that can get people hurt.
CRICKETS.
Head coach Ramil De Jesus, multiple sources told me, is the man who ordered the switch to mute mode.
With 12 championships to his name, De Jesus has a God-like status at La Salle. When he speaks, albeit rarely and gently, everyone listens.
I'm puzzled by the secrecy because La Salle's men's basketball program conducts its affairs with the transparency of a healthy democracy where reporters can accurately relay news about players' activities and injuries. .
Without the Lady Spikers' cooperation here's what I can tell you about the rumors.
Angel is not pregnant. Coach De Jesus, I'm told, has an alleged unwritten "no boyfriend" edict for La Salle players.
Education and volleyball are a way of life at Taft. There's no room nor time for the affairs of the heart.
Angel Canino is smarter than an iPhone. She can handle the rigors of Catholic academia with the same ease she returns a blistering incoming strike. The tale about her supposed weak grades are bogus.
PVL JUMP?
As for the rumors that he is about to turn pro, tying her to the Akari Chargers where his dad, Rodel, was hired last February, that one has little legs to stand on.
But it could change.
An Akari official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, clarified the team would never actively recruit Canino out of respect to La Salle and the UAAP.
But what if Angel wants to move to the Premier Volleyball League on her own volition? Well, that's a different matter.
And if she does, who could blame her? Some of the PVL's richest teams have a budget that can nourish a third world economy.
Once she heals from whatever that is she's dealing with, Angel Canino obviously has a lot to think about.
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