La Salle’s Shevana Laput during a game against NU in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Shevana Laput displayed her Lasallian spirit to unleash a season-best 20 points as defending champion La Salle asserted its mastery of rival National University in their first duel in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament,
Laput picked the perfect time to deliver her best game of the season, leading the Lady Spikers to a come-from-behind 15-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12 victory to snap the Lady Bulldogs’ five-game winning streak in front of 13,848 fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Saturday evening.
The 6-foot-2 opposite spiker refused to give up the school pride against their finals rival for the past two seasons.
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round
“You know, it’s the Lasallian spirit, puso, Animo. That’s all I can say. Just the pride of our school,” said Laput, who drilled the game-winning hit. “They were second last year so we have to show that we won that championship for a reason. It’s also just playing my best, doing my game. That’s all I can say. “
Laput, who nailed 18 of her 39 attack attempts, credited her teammates and coaches for trusting her and lauded the whole Lady Spikers for their collective effort to fight back from a 1-2 deficit before pulling away in the fifth set.
La Salle’s Shevana Laput, middle, and the rest of the Lady Spikers during a game against the NU Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The Filipino-Aussie hitter added that they also learned from their lone defeat in the first round where they fell to University of Santo Tomas in five sets last month.
“For me, we learned that we can’t be complacent that we have to keep working harder than the other team and it’s also who wants it more — we want it more,” she said.
After winning six of their seven matches, Laput and the Lady Spikers are eager to get better in the second round starting next week as they continue their title-retention bid.
“We just stick to our game, stick to our system. But also, volleyball is a mind game so we gotta work on our minds — work on handling the pressure,” said Laput.
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