De La Salle University hardly broke a sweat as it dismantled longtime rival Ateneo, 25-13, 25-12, 25-18, to inch closer to an outright Finals berth in the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City Saturday, April 11.

As expected, the Lady Spikers, powered by Angel Canino and Amie Provido, flexed their might right away, especially in the first two sets, before denying the Blue Eagles in the third to close out the match in 72 minutes and zero in on a quick route to the championship round.

Aside from its immaculate 12-0 tally for an assured No. 1 spot with a twice-to-beat incentive, La Salle stretched its win streak over Ateneo to 18 straight games which started way back 2017 in Season 79 Finals.

The Sergio Veloso-mentored crew, on the other hand, suffered its 11th loss in 12 contests at seventh.

“Well, medyo no’ng third set nag-relax eh, nawala sa focus talaga, hopefully wag mangyari ‘yon sa susunod. ‘Yon lang naman pinapaalala namin sa kanila… hangga’t maari tapusin kung matatapos ng mabilis,” said La Salle deputy coach Noel Orcullo.

Canino paced La Salle after logging 15 points off 13 spikes and two blocks that came with three excellent digs and nine excellent receptions. Provido scored 12 points, while Lilay Del Castillo and Shevana Laput added nine points apiece.

Eshana Nunag displayed her playmaking prowess anew with 22 excellent sets that went with two points and two digs for the Lady Spikers, who are taking on the slumping University of the East Lady Warriors (0-11) this Wednesday, April 15, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.

“‘Yong player of the game ko po is all thanks sa mga ates ko… siguro something to improve on is ‘yong pagbitbit ko po sa sarili ko na they can rely on me more, instead na ako po ‘yong laging umaasa sa kanila,” said Nunag.

Ana Hermosura came out as the lone double-digit scorer for Ateneo with 10 points along with six digs and eight receptions, while Alex Montoro and Zel Tsunashima contributed six points each.

The Blue Eagles go for a bounce-back win against the Lady Warriors next Saturday, April 18, also at UST’s homecourt.

Meanwhile, Ateneo completed a second-set comeback and fended off archrival La Salle, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22, for its second straight win that strengthened its Final Four bid.

Aimar Okeke, Jian Salarzon, and Amil Pacinio worked in sync, orchestrating a 16-7 run that pulled the Blue Eagles up from a 9-16 hole to steal the second frame.

Ateneo hiked its record to 7-5 to remain at No. 4 – behind No. 3 host University of Santo Tomas (7-4) – while La Salle is in a must-win scenario in its last two games as it now sits at fifth spot with a 5-7 card.

The result turned out to be crucial for host University of Santo Tomas as a win against Adamson later Saturday would secure them the third semis ticket.

Both squads clash with University of the East in their next outing. The Blue Eagles’ last assignment would be the league-leading Far Eastern University Tamaraws (10-1), while the Green Spikers challenge the reigning champion National University Bulldogs.

Salarzon topscored for the Katipunan-based squad, whose last semis appearance was in Season 85, with 21 points on top of 18 excellent receptions and four excellent digs, while Pacinio chipped in 13 points and four excellent digs.

Okeke, for his part, contributed 12 points, 11 excellent receptions and two excellent digs, while Enzo Gutierrez posted 19 excellent sets and two points for Ateneo. Their veteran libero Lance de Castro also impressed with 15 excellent digs and six excellent receptions.