DLSU
After years of heartbreak, Canino, Laput make statement in first round clash vs NU
De La Salle University and National University have been the defining rivals of UAAP collegiate women’s volleyball in the post-pandemic era.
While both schools have claimed championships at the other’s expense, the rivalry has largely been one-sided in recent years.
The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Spikers clashed in the UAAP’s return in 2022, with NU asserting dominance and completing a Season 84 sweep, including the Finals series.
That was in part thanks to the arrival of Bella Belen, who made history as the first-ever league rookie-MVP in the women’s division.
La Salle, however, truly turned the rivalry into a titanic showdown in Season 85, with rookie-MVP Angel Canino carrying the Lady Spikers to the title.
That momentum, however, was short-lived. In Season 86, La Salle faltered, settling for bronze after losing to University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Even in the Season 87 Finals, the Lady Spikers fell short as the Jhocson-based squad dominated in two games.
Since the second round of Season 86, NU has strung together five straight wins against La Salle, including four victories in Season 87.
That made the Lady Spikers’ victory over the Lady Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-19, 19-25, 25-17, in the first round of Season 88 all the more meaningful — especially for seniors Canino and Shevana Laput.
“Lalong-lalo na sa’ming seniors, malaking bagay din talaga ‘tong panalo sa’min. Kasi noong rookies kami, siyempre andun yung buong tiwala ng La Salle community, ng buong team, kasi yung tapang namin nandun eh,” said Canino, who energized the Lasallian faithful back in Season 85.
“Then right after that, nawala kami as a team and individually, and medyo hinayaan namin na magkaroon yung streak yung NU against us. And sobrang laking sakit siguro yung nakuha namin against NU, kasi ilang beses namin triny din talaga na talunin sila, pero hindi namin nagawa.”
After years of heartbreaks and a crown that slipped through their fingers, Canino knows this time it’s their championship to lose.
The Lady Spikers’ perfect 7-0 first round is proof that they are ready to reclaim their throne.
Alongside Canino and Laput, middle blocker Amie Provido and libero Lyka de Leon are also designated seniors and team leaders.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“So kami ngayong seniors, pinapangako talaga namin na pagpasok na pagpasok sa loob ng court, gusto naming ipakilala ulit kung sino kami. Gusto naming magkaroon kami ulit ng statement sa mga kalaban namin,” shared Canino, who contributed 14 points, 10 receptions, and six digs.
“Matagal na namin ‘tong hinahantay and ayaw naming palagpasin pa ’yung moment na ‘to kasi ito na ’yung time. Wala nang ibang time para ipakita sa mga tao na once again Lady Spikers kami. Lahat ng values na nandun as a Lady Spikers, dito na makikita ngayong Season 88. Kaya gusto namin talagang paghirapan bawat step, bawat game, gusto namin ipakita yun.”
Laput, who serves as team captain this season, echoed Canino’s sentiments.
The 6-foot-1 opposite spiker emphasized that while NU has had its moment in recent years, it’s now La Salle’s time to shine.
“Coming into the game, we knew that this is our time, this is our season. It’s now. We’ve let them have their time, but now it’s time for us to step up and rise to the occasion and do what we know we can do. Which is, we know that we can be a championship-level team,” said Laput, who led the Lady Spikers with 19 points and eight digs.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Despite the emphatic victory, La Salle knows that the first-round sweep alone means little if they cannot sustain this level of dominance.
The Lady Spikers are preparing for the tougher grind of the second round, where targets on their backs will grow even larger.
“But again, like I said, we have to earn it, and we have to work for it. Every single point, every single game, every single training, we have to work hard to be able to be worthy. For us to be worthy of being a championship-level team,” said Laput.
“We are happy, but again, there are things that we need to improve on. And as soon as we get back, that’s something that we will focus on.”
#WATCH: GUSTO NAMIN IPAKILALA ULIT KUNG SINO KAMI
Angel Canino says La Salle’s first round win over NU was long-awaited by her fellow seniors
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 15, 2026
The post After years of heartbreak, Canino, Laput make statement in first round clash vs NU appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
After a dominant 2-0 start to the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, newly appointed De La Salle University team captain Shevana Laput made one thing clear: the job is far from over.
The Lady Spikers opened their Season 88 campaign with emphatic wins over perennial contenders Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws and, more notably, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses—a team that had long figured in La Salle’s heartbreaks over the past decade.
For the Fil-Aussie opposite spiker, matchups against one of La Salle’s storied rivals always push the Lady Spikers to bring out their best.
Following her 23-point outing against the Lady Tamaraws, the 21-year-old continued her fine form against the Golden Tigresses, scoring 21 points—19 of which came in the last two sets—on 17 spikes and four blocks.
“Of course, a strong team like UST pushes us to be the best,” Laput said after the game.
The rivalry has intensified in the UAAP’s post-pandemic era, with the Golden Tigresses eliminating La Salle in the Final Four of Season 86, only for the Lady Spikers to return the favor by dashing UST’s championship hopes in Season 87.
And while La Salle has now bested UST in four consecutive encounters, Laput stressed that making quick work of any contender in the highly competitive eight-team field is not the ultimate measure of the Ramil de Jesus-mentored squad’s growth.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Instead, the 6-foot-2 spiker pointed inward. As La Salle seeks to erase the heartbreak of a third-place finish in Season 86 and a runner-up placing in Season 87, Laput believes the team’s toughest opponent isn’t across the net—it’s within themselves.
“At the end of the day, we are our best opponents, actually. We play better because we want to be better. No matter what team we play against, we’ll always play our best,” Laput explained.
The 21-year-old proved that statement on Sunday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
As Angge Poyos and Xyza Gula mounted a late third-set rally that sent UST to set point at 24-22, Laput stepped up in the clutch with two consecutive rejections on Gula, followed by a drop shot that sealed the Golden Tigresses’ first 0-2 start since Season 79 (2017).
For Laput, beyond stepping up against a strong contender like UST, the Lady Spikers draw—and will always draw—motivation and lessons from the heartbreak that marred their past two seasons.
“Definitely for us seniors, having that heartbreak that we’ve had for the past two seasons, we want to come into this season and make bawi and finally capture what we believe is truly ours. At the end of the day, it’s very much a mind game. All of the teams here in the UAAP are skilled, but it’s who wants it more and who wants to win more,” Laput shared.
None other than lead deputy Noel Orcullo applauded Laput’s growth as the Lady Spikers’ skipper—from struggling when Coach De Jesus first appointed her to now fully embracing the role alongside batchmates Angel Canino, Amie Provido, and Lyka de Leon.
“For Shevana, siguro in-embrace lang niya yung task na binigay sa kanya sa pagiging captain. Nakita naman namin ’yan nung una, nagsa-struggle siya, ‘eh,” Orcullo said.
“Nung in-announce ni coach na siya team captain, medyo nag-struggle and nag-overthink siya. Sabi nga namin sa kanya, ‘Shevana, yang nasa dibdib mo, guhit lang yan. Hindi mo kailangang buhatin nang buo yung team. Marami kang katulong.’”
#WATCH: MARAMI KANG KATULONG
Noel Orcullo could not help but be proud of Shev Laput’s growth as La Salle’s skipper in #UAAPSeason88
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) February 22, 2026
The post Shevana Laput says La Salle’s true challenge is within appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
A year ago, De La Salle University preached patience.
When the Lady Spikers stumbled out of the gate in Season 87, head coach Ramil de Jesus urged calm as former setter Jules Tolentino and then-rookie playmaker Mikole Reyes navigated early jitters.
The team eventually fought to a silver-medal finish, falling short against three-time UAAP MVP Bella Belen and the National University Lady Bulldogs.
Twelve months later, poise triumphed over pressure as La Salle unleashed another rookie playmaker, aiming to follow in the footsteps of former orchestrators Mars Alba and Julia Coronel.
Far from looking like a pure rookie, 19-year-old Eshana Nunag displayed composure beyond her years. She orchestrated a controlled performance that activated star spikers Angel Canino and Shevana Laput in a straight-sets victory over Far Eastern University, opening La Salle’s redemption drive in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
In her UAAP collegiate debut, Nunag immediately earned praise from long-time deputy Noel Orcullo for guiding the Lady Spikers’ main weapons — Laput, who finished with 23 points, and Canino, who contributed 15 of her own.
“So far, ‘yon nga yung first game niya, iniisip nga namin na kakalog siya, pero hindi naman. At least, nakapasa siya sa unang test niya,” Orcullo said after Saturday’s game at a packed SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“Sana magtuloy-tuloy yung kumpyansa niya at mabuo nang husto going into the league, pa-second round, until the end. Hopefully by then, buong-buo na kumpyansa niya by then.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The former NU-Nazareth standout did admit to feeling pressure and early jitters. But she was grateful not just for the support of the decorated coaching staff led by De Jesus and Orcullo, but also for the guidance provided by ‘Ates’ Canino and Laput.
Through the tense one-hour and 33-minute battle — highlighted by a thrilling 40-minute back-and-forth third set — Nunag revealed that having outspoken leaders in the battle-tested duo of Canino and Laput helped her compose herself against the Lady Tamaraws’ pair of setters, Tin Ubaldo and Karyll Miranda.
“During the game, very vocal sila sa mga parang… Kahit despite sa mga errors or imperfections sa loob ng court, lagi silang nandiyan. Parang no problem naman, ganyan, dahil kaya ko raw i-up yung sarili ko beyond that,” Nunag shared.
“Lagi sila nandiyan to assure na may papatay [ng bola] dahil as a non-scoring position, sa kanila ko nakukuha yung kumpyansa ko,” she added.
“Siyempre parang sa una, nakakaba dahil freshman and first six na agad. Pero with the help of the coaches and Ates, tiwalang-tiwala ako na hindi nila ako ipapahamak and gagawin nila lahat for me and for the team. No problems dahil naa-assure ako sa loob ng court kahit nagkakamali.”
With her UAAP debut behind her, Nunag now looks forward to a more intense challenge when La Salle faces another perennial contender, the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, next Sunday, February 22, at a packed MOA Arena.
Eager to test her mettle against Season 86 Best Setter Cassie Carballo, Nunag will once again rely on the guidance of De Jesus, Orcullo, Canino, and Laput to prove her worth as La Salle’s next setter.
“Kakayanin yung crowd na kahit marami or lamang yung crowd nila kaysa sa La Salle, dahil sa support ng teammates and coaches, kakayanin namin,” she vowed.
“E-expect ko na lang din yung ingay and yung drums.”
#WATCH: LAGI SILA NANDIYAN
Eshana Nunag is glad to have her ‘ates’ Angel Canino and Shevana Laput guide her in her rookie year
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) February 14, 2026
The post Shan Nunag shows composure beyond year in La Salle debut appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
In a clash between last year’s Final Four teams, De La Salle University silenced Far Eastern University with a 25-19, 25-14, 27-25 sweep in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament opener at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.
The Lady Spikers overcame a 12-16 and 22-24 deficit in the third set and maintained their momentum to complete the straight-sets victory.
For Angel Canino, the credit goes to new La Salle captain Shevana Laput and the energy she brought to her role and responsibilities.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Talagang nagbi-bring ng positive energy sa loob ng court kasi ano siya e up girl siya, positive girly, hype girl talaga siya ever since,” said the Season 85 rookie MVP after their win.
“‘Yung pagiging positive niya talaga niya nadadala niya sa loob ng court like may mga teammates kami na nadadown pero dahil sa ginagawa niya nali-lift kami.”
Canino noted that Laput’s positivity, both on and off the court, perfectly complemented what the other seniors have contributed to the squad.
Amie Provido, Lyka De Leon, and Canino are also fourth-year players for the Lady Spikers.
Laput led by example, racking up 23 points on 20 spikes, two blocks, and an ace, while Canino added 15 points. Provido also breached double digits with 11 points.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Napupush kaming seniors na maging positive so magandang environment talaga, naging maganda yung environment namin nung naging captain si Shevana. Mag-batchmates din kami kaya talagang maganda yung naging dynamics namin kasi meron kaming good guy, bad guy,” Canino said.
“So nagiging pantay talaga kasi sa labas ng court magbibigay kami ng opinyon namin kaming mga seniors and doon lang namin paguusapan kung anong best para sa team,” she added.
“Lagi naming iniisip kung anong pinakabest sa team hindi best para sa amin lang seniors or best para sa mga bata hindi siya bias base lahat ng sinasabi namin kaya nagiging maganda yung dynamic namin kaya lumalabas yung result starting today.”
La Salle’s mettle will be tested again as its next opponent is another Final Four team, University of Santo Tomas, on February 22.
The Lady Spikers will hope that their four seniors, along with the rest of the team, can continue thriving in this positive environment.
#WATCH: THEY’RE A STRONG TEAM
Skipper Shevana Laput and deputy coach Noel Orcullo are bracing for a tough matchup against UST
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) February 14, 2026
The post Angel Canino loves La Salle’s ‘good guy, bad guy’ leadership with Shev Laput at helm appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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