UAAP volleyball: La Salle star Angel Canino treating all teams with respect
La Salle Lady Spikers’ star Angel Canino in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament. –UAAP
MANILA, Philippines — Angel Canino treated the new-look University of the East with respect, unleashing an efficient game to lead La Salle to its fourth win in the UAAP Season 86 women’s volleyball tournament.
The reigning UAAP MVP poured in 17 points on 16-of-31 attacks clip to lead the defending champion to a dominant 25-21, 25-18, 25-10 victory over UE on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
“My mindset was to treat them with respect because our coaches wanted to treat all opponents with the same respect. I just did my job inside the court,” said Canino in Filipino after tallying nine digs and seven excellent receptions.
SCHEDULE: UAAP Season 86 volleyball first round
Canino also relished her first showdown with UE’s prized rookie Casiey Dongallo, whom the Lady Spikers limited to 15 points after averaging 26.0 points in her first four matches.
“It was fun. I finally got a chance to play against her and I’m glad because I saw her play,” said Canino of Dongallo.
More than getting their second straight win after their lone loss from the University of Santo Tomas, the Season 85 Rookie of the Year believes the Lady Spikers are slowly finding their groove with a 4-1 record in joint second place.
READ: La Salle not satisfied despite latest win in UAAP women’s volleyball
“We’re slowly regaining [our top form] as a team. Because we really have to jell as a team and be confident and focused for our team. That loss was our biggest motivation this season,” she said.
“We’re happy because our teammates are maximizing their time to shine by contributing when they enter the court. That’s a huge factor to our team.”
Canino and the Lady Spikers eye their fifth win against the UP Fighting Maroons on Sunday and they will continue to treat that game the same way even though they’re facing a winless squad.
“Our opponents have different strategies and UP has a system. They may be winless but they have nothing to lose. We have to work on that and stick to our system,” Canino said.
