De La Salle is looking to finish the elimination round strong after sealing the top seed with a rout of longtime rival Ateneo in straight sets on April 23. The Lady Spikers extended their head-to-head record to 12 games over the already ousted Blue Eagles in a swift victory and, in turn, improved their own record to 12-1 in the standings to lock up the No. 1 spot going into the semifinals. Now through and armed in the playoffs, La Salle refused to let the record get the best of them as it prepares pretty much in the same way against the winless University of the East Lady Warriors in its remaining elimination round game. *The La Salle Lady Spikers look to finish strong in the elimination round going into the Final Four. (UAAP Media)*


The Taft-based crew, though, was no exception to the change of weather as it has affected its conditioning the past week or so. “Maintain lang doon sa training namin lalo na sa conditioning to prevent injuries like with the conditioning coach. Binibigay namin sa kanya kung ano ‘yong mga dapat gawin [for the players]. Coming from here, we have to rest muna. At least one day. Since some of them are under the weather. Kaya nagbago ‘yong panahon. Hindi naging maganda ‘yong naging epekto sa kanila ng change of weather,” said assistant coach Noel Orcullo. “We have to end the second round on a high note going to the semifinals. Kailangang reading ready kami pagdating ng semifinals,” he added. With the firepower addition of another rookie in Shevana Laput, however, the Lady Spikers are showing no signs of wear heading into the semifinals. After her third time to start for the Ramil de Jesus-led La Salle, Laput delivered a career-best 16 points on 15 attacks and one service ace. With her timely outburst, Orcullo was nothing short of proud about how “teachable” the 6-foot-2 opposite hitter has been. “Sobrang proud ako sa batang to [Laput]. Napaka teachable niyang bata. Kahit anong sabihin mo sa kanya gagawin. Kasi nga she started from zero, kahit anong sabihin mo na basic gagawin niya. Walang reklamo kung ano ‘yong ituro mo sa kanya. Ngayon ang ganda pa ng nilaro. Dito pa [against] Ateneo nangyari,” furthered Orcullo. Laput, for her part, was just as proud of how she showed up after giving a good account of herself  in the past two games. “The victory was amazing like coach [Noel] said. We had to fight harder because we started slow. And again it was against the rival school. Again it just feels great to be victorious. Points wise, I had no idea that I achieved and did that many. I’m proud of myself,” Laput said. Laput’s fellow rookie Angel Canino, who has been holding the scoring cudgels for La Salle since her debut game, gave Laput a pat on the back for putting up a solid outing for the team and finishing with a team boost career-high. “I’m very proud kung ano ‘yong na-achive ni Shevana [after] ilang months pa lang na training. And sa determination, dedication niyang ma-push iyong sarili niya to her hightest para maglaro. Kahit wala siyang full experience sa volleyball nalabas niya iyong potential niya. I’m very proud kasi napaka humble niya ring tao pwede mo siyang puntahan. Lumalabas lang talaga yong pagiging athlete niya,” said Canino.