The De La Salle Lady Spikers have made strides in their bid to earn a Final Four incentive in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
This is despite competing in their last five games without team star Angel Canino, who suffered a right arm injury in early April.
With Canino on the sidelines, La Salle has won four of their last five games, with the Lady Spikers tallying victories over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, the University of the East Lady Warriors, the Adamson University Lady Falcons, and the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles.
But now that the Lady Spikers are set to end their elimination round campaign this weekend against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses at the Araneta Coliseum, when can La Salle and its fans expect their prized spiker?
“Maganda naman ‘yung progress ng recovery niya,” said La Salle deputy coach Noel Orcullo following their victory over Ateneo at the Big Dome last Sunday, April 21.
Canino previously wore a sling and a cast on her right arm, but the reigning Most Valuable Player was finally able to finally participate in their pre-game drills last Sunday for the first time since she suffered the injury.
This sparked some speculation that she may make her return against the Blue Eagles, but it was just not the right time for Canino to rejoin her sisters on the taraflex.
“So far, nagte-therapy naman na siya. Hopefully, makabalik talaga siya. Kung hindi man sa game sa UST, sa semis,” offered Orcullo.
In the meantime, it is up to the collective efforts of Shevana Laput and Thea Gagate to hold the fort for the shorthanded Lady Spikers, who are also without Jyne Soreño, who previously injured her left shoulder.
“For me, gagawin ko lang ‘yung best ko as a middle and as an ate inside the court,” said Gagate.
“Since nawalan kami ng dalawang players, pinagtiyagaan lang namin, and we just thought of them na kailangan maganda ‘yung laro para sa kanila.”
“With Angel, she’s my batchmate. With her out, I need to step up for her and do justice for her. Personally, I’m playing for both of us right now. I always say to her, this is also yours,” added Laput.
La Salle will conclude the elimination round on Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m., as they look to finally earn a semifinals bonus when they face UST. (ABS-CBN News)