Game on Friday
(Rizal Memorial Coliseum)
6:30 PM – La Salle vs. NOW
BACK-TO-BACK champion National University (NU) and De La Salle University take their UAAP rivalry to the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-Season Championship in the highly anticipated Game 1 of the finals Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Hostilities commence at 6.30pm, with the Lady Bulldogs looking to move closer to a coveted three-peat, albeit against strong resistance from their UAAP arch-rivals Lady Spikers, who remained undefeated until the final.
NU and La Salle met twice in the UAAP finals and exchanged crowns in seasons 84 and 85, but the Lady Bulldogs were the undisputed queens in the Shakey’s tilt with perfect runs in two seasons.
However, La Salle got some measure of revenge in the elimination rounds when it snapped NU’s 28-game, two-year losing streak with a 32-30, 14-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory. But the finale is a completely different story. arena, which is shaping up to be a battle for the indisputably two best collegiate volleyball programs in the country today with UAAP MVPs Bella Belen of NU and La Salle’s Angel Canino taking center stage.
Besides Ms. Belen, Mr. Meneses will have back-to-back SSL MVP Alyssa Solomon to count on, along with seasoned spikers in Vange Alinsug, Erin Pangilinan, Sheena Toring, Lams Lamina and rising star Arah Ella Panique of Alas Pilipinas.
La Salle, in turn, is ready for whatever retaliation awaits NOW in a fiery rematch since their titular showdown in 2022.
Key players for the Lady Spikers are Ms. Canino, SSL National Invitationals MVP Shevana Laput, Julia Coronel, Amie Provido and Baby Jyne Soreño. — John Bryan Ulanday