WHEN veterans Alleiah Malaluan, Baby Jyne Soreño, and Jules Tolentino graduated from the UAAP last season, it was a foregone conclusion that La Salle's 'Big 3' of Angel Canino, Shevana Laput, and Amie Provido would be doing much more heavy lifting come Season 88.
And while they let their arrows fly to a 3-0 start to the season, a rare mishap occurred in their rivalry against Ateneo, where they shot themselves in the foot and allowed the Blue Eagles to snag the second set.
“Mas nakita ko na mas aggressive yung Ateneo nung second set compared to us,” Canino said, talking about their first lost set in the tournament. "Mas nag lay-low kami.”
But in a welcome development for the Lady Spikers, once Ateneo threw out their broomsticks, their young players just pulled their bows farther.
Apart from the usual suspects like Canino and Provido dropping 21 and 17 points, respectively, the green-and-white rookies also stepped up to the plate.
Rookie setter Eshana Nunag continued to shine bright with 19 excellent sets alongside six points. Ella De Guzman got six points in a relief outing for starter Shane Reterta, and Mikee Santos and Althea Cabradilla added five markers each from the opposite wing usually taken care of by sidelined skipper Laput.
“Mapupuri mo rin talaga yung mga bata kasi makikita mo na sobrang lakas ng loob nila. Magaan din para sa akin kasi alam ko talaga when it comes to playing, hindi lang ako dapat ang maaasahan. Lahat kami naaasahan sa loob,” Canino said.
READ: La Salle downs Ateneo even after dropping first set of season
And when La Salle cleaned up its act, so did its machine-like efficiency from all over come back, with the Blue Eagles failing to cross the 20-point mark in Sets 3 and 4.
No Shevana, no excuses
Of course, increased production isn’t the only thing expected of Canino right now, as Laput remains absent due to illness.
“Kaming mga seniors, hindi namin siya tinitingnan as a disadvantage ng team kasi binuo din talaga kami ni coach Ramil [de Jesus] as a leader talaga, bawat isa sa'min,” she said.
“Masaya rin ako kasi hindi nataranta yung buong team noong nawala si Shevana kasi alam nila na kaya ng mga bata na mag-step up.”
Indeed, what's scarier about these Lady Spikers is that they are looking like the team to beat even without their superstar opposite and even with rookies being given their time under the sun.
For Canino, we all better get used to it; because they have.
As she put it, “Nire-remind din namin yung sarili namin na kung may wala, ‘wag nang hanapin. Kung sinuman nandiyan, ‘yun lang yung meron tayo, and lalaban tayo kahit sino man ang nandiyan.”
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