The hunt is over, but the war rages on.
With the weight of history pressing down on their shoulders, the La Salle Lady Spikers clawed their way out of the trenches and shattered UST’s four-game dominance over them, escaping with a grueling five-set victory, 15-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 16-14, on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. In a match that tested heart, endurance, and sheer will, the Taft towers stood tall in the end, finally sealing the triumph against the Golden Tigresses.
For the first time since the Season 85 Final Four, the Lady Spikers walked off the court with their heads held high against UST. The losing streak was broken, but in the relentless battleground of the UAAP, the hunt never truly ends.
Canino may have struck the opening point, but the joy was short-lived as the Tigresses struck deeper. With Angge Poyos camping out at the service line, UST went on a 5-0 run (1-5), prompting an early timeout from Coach Ramil de Jesus. UST exploited early cracks in La Salle’s floor defense, and despite Canino’s efforts to keep pace—hitting off the block to 2-6, then again for 7-14—the Tigresses dictated the tempo.
Alleiah Malaluan punched through with her signature off-the-block hit (5-10), and Shevana Laput added heat with a left-wing attack the blockers couldn’t contain (8-15). But UST’s pressure was relentless. Even La Salle’s late rally, capped by Canino saving two set points at 14-24 and 15-24, wasn’t enough to erase the damage.
UST closed the first frame with authority, 15-25. The hunt had begun with a stumble. But as history has proven, La Salle does not fall easily.
La Salle needed a reset, and they found one through their middles. Amie Provido opened the second set with a quick attack, and an unforced UST error gave La Salle a 2-0 start. Malaluan then caught fire, delivering a crosscourt rocket for 3-0 before dumping another ball to make it 4-2. Shevana Laput joined the charge with a crafty drop, and when La Salle’s net defense forced UST into a timeout at 6-2, momentum had fully shifted.
The Lady Spikers never looked back. Canino’s back-row attack widened the gap to 10-6, and a Canino service ace extended the lead to 11-6. Lilay Del Castillo sent another ace crashing into UST’s backline (14-7), and Mikole Reyes followed suit (16-8). The Lady Spikers’ offense found its flow—balanced across Provido’s quicks, Malaluan’s sharp wings, and Canino’s ever-present threat from the back row.
Jyne Soreño entered the fray late in the set and struck gold immediately—a soft touch and a missile off the block (22-15, 23-16). A UST error handed La Salle a set point, and Soreño’s service ace iced it, 25-17. Game tied. Arrows sharpened.
With the match tied at one set apiece, the third frame turned into a game of chess.
The third set began with Shevana Laput opening fire, throwing off UST’s rhythm with a deceptive off-speed hit for the first point. A service error from the Tigresses gifted La Salle an early edge, 2-1, but UST quickly recovered, reclaiming the lead at 3-2 after Laput fired a crosscourt kill in between two quick UST points. Angel Canino stepped up with a roof on a running attack, shifting momentum and giving the Lady Spikers a 4-3 advantage.
Then came a crafty one-two play from Mikole Reyes—catching the defense flat-footed as she dropped the ball over the net—pushing La Salle ahead, 5-4. Reyes wasn’t done yet. She followed up with a block that denied another UST swing, giving the Lady Spikers a two-point cushion at 6-4. With the pressure mounting, Jessa Ordiales stepped to the service line and delivered an ace to extend the lead, 7-4.
UST tried to answer back, but Amie Provido found her mark with a quick attack that deflected off the block to keep La Salle ahead, 8-6. Laput came soaring in again, this time unleashing a high-speed kill that caught the arms of the defense on its way out—La Salle still up, 9-7. A net touch from UST added to their frustrations and helped La Salle stay in control, 10-9.
UST fought back, and the teams traded errors until the score reached 12-all, with another Tigresses service misfire leveling the playing field. But as the set wore on, UST began to piece together a run. A down-the-line hit from Jyne Soreño sparked a hope, giving them 13-17. Soreño stayed hot, following it up with a block for 14-17, and a feathery soft touch that caught UST off guard for 15-17.
Shane Reterta continued the pace back up with a thunderous swing that made it 16-18, and when UST’s two attacks sailed out, La Salle crept closer, closing the gap to just one, 18-19. Another UST misfire leveled the set at 20-all after Canino soared for a middle kill to keep the Lady Spikers in step.
Provido matched a UST quick with her own at 21-all, and from there it was survival mode. UST tried to pull away, but Canino responded with back-to-back attacks—one from the wing, another from the back—to force a deuce at 24-all. But in the end, a critical block touch from La Salle sealed their fate. UST escaped, 26-24, stealing the set and going up 2-1 in the match.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Spikers turned to their defense.
Laput opened the fourth set as she found the corner first, slicing through the defense to finally put La Salle on the board. With a quick adjustment, she sent another kill to the opposite corner—two in a row to tie the set at 2-all. The Tigresses pressed back, but Laput stayed relentless, threading another shot off the block to keep the Green-and-White within striking distance at 4-all.
Angel Canino, always a spark for La Salle, broke through UST’s blockers with a powerful swing, giving La Salle the upper hand at 7-6. Moments later, she struck again—this time drilling an attack that tied the game at 8-all. UST faltered at the net, gifting La Salle a slim 9-8 lead, before Alleiah Malaluan widened the gap, targeting the hands of the receiver for 10-9.
Amie Provido added to the momentum, firing a quick attack down the middle for 11-10. Malaluan, now locked in, turned defender, rejecting a UST soft touch at the net to stretch the lead to 12-10. She followed up with another block—this time stuffing a hard swing—to put La Salle in command, 13-10. When a UST attack sailed long, the Lady Spikers found themselves with a four-point cushion, 14-10.
Canino continued to dominate, this time taking flight from the back row for 15-13. Shane Reterta answered with a high-speed hit off the block, keeping UST within reach at 16-13, but Canino remained unstoppable, attacking from all angles. She struck off the block for 17-13, then again off the receiver for 18-14. A high-speed attack added to her tally, pushing La Salle further ahead, 19-14.
Even with UST scrambling, Canino kept pouring it on, this time going off the block from the middle for 20-16. She shifted back to the rear and launched another back-row bomb, pushing the lead. Malaluan added her own touch of finesse, threading an attack past the hands of the receiver, 22-18.
Jessa Ordiales then landed a service ace to pile on at 23-18. As the set neared its close, Provido ran her lane and drilled a quick down-the-line finish to bring La Salle to set point, 24-20. And with the crowd on edge, Mikole Reyes sealed it with an ace of her own—forcing a do-or-die fifth set at 25-20. Ordiales served an ace (23-18), and Provido sprinted down the middle to fire a set point (24-20). Reyes aced it home, 25-20.
We were going the distance. But not without a cost.
In the middle of a heated rally, Canino and Laput collided on a coverage attempt. Canino fell awkwardly and had to be sidelined temporarily, receiving ice treatment from the coaching staff and PTs. But even as the team held its breath, they pushed through.
The final set was nothing short of a battle for survival. Provido struck first, powering through the middle to level the score at 1-all. Laput followed with a down-the-line dagger, keeping the scoreboard knotted at 2-all. It was a relentless exchange, Canino pushing off the block to keep La Salle in step at 3-all.
Laput continued her rhythm, sending another down-the-line kill to tie it at 5-all. UST faltered twice, first with an attack error and then with another shot sailing long, allowing La Salle to stay deadlocked at 7-all. When a mistimed UST play gave La Salle the advantage at 8-7, the teams switched courts.
Canino, determined as ever, tore through UST’s defense with another clutch attack, 9-8. Laput followed, attacking through the block and finding open floor—unstoppable, 10-9. UST answered, keeping the set razor-close, but Canino adjusted, soaring above the blockers to regain the edge, 11-10.
Laput, ever the reliable finisher, sent an attack that clipped the net, unread by UST, keeping La Salle on UST’s heels at 12-11. With the tension thick in the air, Laput fired from the back row, delivering a cold-blooded down-the-line kill to level the set, 13-all.
Then, she stepped up for the biggest moment of the night. Rising at the net, Laput stuffed a UST swing, handing La Salle match point, 14-13. UST momentarily snatched it back, but Laput remained calm, this time rolling an off-speed shot to reclaim La Salle’s match point, 15-14.
There came the exclamation point. Amie Provido and Angel Canino—two pillars of La Salle’s defense—timed it perfectly at the net. Together, they shut down Jurado’s final swing, their hands forming an unbreakable wall. The ball fell untouched to the floor—16-14, La Salle. The crowd erupted. The streak was broken.
The iconic duo sealed the win with a block that echoed through the arena, proving once again why they’re called the Taft Towers. La Salle dethroned UST in a dramatic five-setter, snapping the Tigresses’ four-game win streak against them—the first since their Final Four triumph in Season 85. More than revenge, this was recovery. The loss to NU in their Round 2 opener stung. This time, they bit back.
Angel Canino spearheaded the charge, dropping 27 points, along with 13 excellent digs and 13 excellent receptions, proving why she remains at the core of La Salle’s attack. The Lady Spikers outgunned UST in attacks, 63-55, and dominated the service game, scoring 7 aces while UST had none.
However, the celebration was quickly cut short. She was taken straight to an ambulance post-match, after playing through pain since that Set 4 collision. But she had already given everything.
La Salle outgunned UST with 63 attack points to 55. They landed 7 service aces. UST had none. The Green-and-White block may not have been the tallest tonight, but it was timely—and deadly when it mattered most.
La Salle delivered when it mattered most. With Provido holding strong in the middle, Malaluan slicing through with her angles, Laput sealing points with power, and Canino drawing defenders with every step, the Lady Spikers played with heart, hunger, and championship poise.
They lost the first battle, but this time, they hunted until the end.
And on this night in Araneta, the archers of Taft reclaimed the jungle.
ANIMO LA SALLE!
