SHEVANA Laput may downplay the captaincy in a La Salle team filled with leaders, but her impact has been anything but ordinary in UAAP Season 88.
After missing two games due to illness, the Fil-Australian winger has returned in full force, helping keep the Lady Spikers unbeaten through six matches in the elimination round.
Her career-high 26-point explosion in La Salle’s gritty 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 13-25, 15-5 escape over Adamson on Wednesday showcased exactly the kind of leadership she wants to embody.
READ: Canino makes sure La Salle braves through scare from Adamson
Laput also tallied six blocks, several of them coming in the deciding fifth set. Yet personal milestones barely crossed her mind.
“In terms of my career high, I didn’t even realize it. You don’t feel it on the court because as an athlete, as captains in this team, our goal is to help our team. That’s the only thing we care about, how much, how we can help the team, how reliable we can be,” said Laput.
“The points will come, the blocks will come, all that will come, but as long as we do our job, which is to be there, be an athlete, be a senior, be a leader for them, that’s all that we care about.”
More than the numbers, Laput’s focus was keeping the Lady Spikers steady in unfamiliar territory. The Adamson clash marked La Salle’s first five-set match this season, with several younger players experiencing a tiebreaker for the first time in the UAAP.
For Laput, being the steady presence in those tense moments mattered just as much as the final score.
“In comparison to seasons before, I suppose in a way, we can say, as seniors, we really can lead the team how we want to lead them. The vision that we have is the same amongst all of us seniors,” she added.
Fellow senior Angel Canino, for her part, welcomed the challenge of being pushed to five sets after La Salle had dropped just one set in its first five games.
“At least na-experience nila mga bata yung fifth set. Hindi ko rin naman siya tinitignan as disadvantage dahil nag-fifth set kami,” said Canino.
“Kundi magandang lesson to para sa mga bata na at least na-experience nga namin ‘to.”
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