ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Volleyball devider Lady Spikers expect tough title defense in UAAP Season 86

Lady Spikers expect tough title defense in UAAP Season 86

Published Feb 12, 2024 07:38 am

At A Glance

  • De La Salle Lady Spikers are expecting a tough campaign ahead as they gear up to defend the UAAP crown in the Season 86 women's volleyball tournament which kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 17. 

De La Salle Lady Spikers are expecting a tough campaign ahead as they gear up to defend the UAAP crown in the Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament which kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 17. 

With women’s volleyball as the centerpiece of the league’s second semester action, La Salle has all watchful eyes directed at it when it goes for back-to-back titles. 

 

IMG_4182.jpeg
Angel Canino and Thea Gagate hope to pick up where the Lady Spikers left off. (UAAP Media)


Admittedly, assistant coach Noel Orcullo, who took over for long-time mentor Ramil De Jesus in the first round of the competition last season, found himself disliking their setup, which is essentially being chased by the pack going after the coveted crown in their possession. 

“For us, we’re making sure na palagi naming sinasabi sa kanila na wag tayong makuntento na nag-champion tayo ngayon. Tapos na ‘yun and we have to face the new season. So, we have to prepare na double time kasi we’re the defending champions. All the teams are after us. Mahirap mag-defend ng championship kaysa ikaw ‘yung hahabol sa nag-champion,” said Orcullo during the league’s press conference on Monday, Feb. 12, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

The 12-time UAAP champion team will get acid test when it opens the season against fellow Final Four contenders Adamson Lady Falcons. 

Looking to move past from the departure of its key players in Finals MVP and Best Setter Mars Alba, Jolina dela Cruz, Fifi Sharma and Justine Jazareno, who all went pro at the conclusion of last season, La Salle remained confident of its rotation which still boasts the presence of Rookie-Most Valuable Player Angel Canino.

However, the La Salle coaching staff refused to lean solely on Canino and instead come out with a balanced and collective effort.

“Andiyan naman ‘yan eh. Malaking bagay siya ‘yung naging go-to namin last Season 85 since andiyan pa siya hindi naman kami umaasa sa kanya. Pero lahat kailangang magtrabaho. Hindi isang tao lang. It’s a team game, hindi individual. So lahat inaasahan sa team,” he said. 

In Season 85, the Lady Spikers finished with a sensational 13-1 win-loss tally in the elimination round heading into the finals that saw them sweep the series against rival National University Lady Bulldogs. 

La Salle is coming from an off-season high, staying sharp and in-form, following promising tune-up matches against three-time Thailand League champion Supreme VC, something the coaching staff hopes to build on. 

Related Tags

UAAP Season 86 De La Salle Lady Spikers
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.