The DLSU Lady Spikers powered through every doubt and miscue with pure heart and discipline, booking their 22nd and 16th straight Finals appearance after overcoming the defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs in a five-set classic, 27-25,15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13, last night, April 19, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Shane Reterta’s all-around explosion of 21 points, 18 receptions, and 15 digs anchored La Salle’s slow but sure come-from-behind win. Team Captain Shevana Laput also dominated with 16 points, while fellow seniors Angel Canino and Amie Provido scored 15 points apiece.
Meanwhile, Lady Bulldogs’ Captain Vange Alinsug made her own indelible mark with 22 points off 19 attacks and three blocks. Also contributing to La Salle’s headache were Arah Panique and Chammy Maaya, who tallied 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Dueled to operate
In such a highly anticipated match, all eyes were on the duel between the tournament’s top two playmakers, Eshana Nunag and Lams Lamina. The latter quickly activated her signifier, backed up by Shaira Jardio’s early pickings on the floor. The Lady Bulldogs were able to outmaneuver the Taft-based squad early, forcing the Lasallians to seek no conversion with three straight errors, 7-4. Despite parity in unforced errors, reception struggles limited Nunag’s ability to set up decisive offense past Maaya’s net defense and Jardio’s floor coverage.
After cascading new strategies, the technical timeout became an advantage for Nunag to re-operate her gunners, Canino, Lilay del Castillo, and Laput to set up a deficit-erasing play. From a 4-2 offensive disadvantage, they equalized the attacking department to tie the game at 9-all. Canino then anchored both attack transitions and defensive conversions alongside Del Castillo and Reterta, producing a three-point surge for a 12-9 lead.
Bulldogs Coach Regine Diego inserted Celine Marsh to disrupt the rush, but Reterta’s back-to-back hits preserved the advantage and forced another timeout at 16-14. Errors mounted late in the set with both teams trading points in a tight finish. Nunag continued to rely on Canino and Reterta, while Lamina briefly revived Jhocson’s offense through Maaya to halt a DLSU run. La Salle Coach Ramil De Jesus countered with late-set adjustments to steady the system, and eventually Canino and Laput took command to deliver the finishing blows for a hard-fought 27-25 set one win.
The first bite
With the late-set momentum from the opener, the Lady Spikers struck first in the second, picking up two easy points behind better ball rotation. Just as everything was starting to click, Lady Bulldogs Team Captain Alinsug went for back-to-back momentum breakers to flip the edge, 5-4. The Lady Spikers failed to recover from an error-ridden spell and repeatedly abandoned their posts, helping NU climb ahead by eight, 15-6.
Despite Reterta’s successful drop shot being an attempt to retake the wheel, the Lady Bulldogs began to keep close guard at the net and build a commanding 21-10 cushion. Refusing to yield just yet, Reterta converted off a combination play to spark a short 3-0 run. NU, however, quickly shut the door as Maaya struck from the middle before Alexa Mata delivered the finishing blow from the same spot to award the set to NU, 25-15.
Failed meltdown recovery
In an attempt to restore control after a second-set meltdown, Reterta reasserted her presence, which energized La Salle to a 6-5 edge. The advantage did not last, as Lamina accelerated the Lady Bulldogs’ offense, pushing them ahead into the first technical timeout, 8-7. Conversion issues surfaced for Nunag. Laput struggled to settle into her attacking rhythm, while Canino mistimed her approach with her hitting window. Still, Nunag answered with urgency, reconnecting and reactivating her spikers to steady the offense, 11-all.
Behind Jardio’s floor coverage, the defending champions sustained pressure better than their undefeated rivals. They nudged ahead in a tense exchange, but Canino stayed engaged, adding touches at the net to stabilize DLSU’s defensive wall and disrupt NU’s momentum, keeping them ahead at 16-15. Lamina answered with poise, briefly pulling Provido out to disrupt the block formation, allowing Cantada to sustain offensive pressure and preserve the deadlock at 19-all.
The closing stretch devolved into a grind of traded errors and extended rallies, until Cantada exploited the seam in the block to level at 21-all. Lamina orchestrated a second-ball play that Alinsug converted in succession to hand La Salle their first 2-1 set disadvantage of the season, 25-23.
The reprisal
Shouldering the pressure to force a decider, the Lady Spikers began to return to the basics with a calmer disposition and better first balls. The Lady Bulldogs, however, capitalized on the late blocking horrors of the Taft-based squad, trudging ahead, 4-2. With both Laput and Canino struggling to get past NU’s impenetrable wall, Provido quietly crept her way up top, firing back-to-back quicks and a well-timed slide to swing the lead, 9-6. On the other side of the court, NU responded just as swiftly as Maaya posted a solo block on Laput to revive the NU faithful.
Over the next few minutes, both teams reduced each other to single-point increments. Mata then mirrored her second-set display to deliver on the quick. Provido stayed hot to counter, but Alinsug’s steady rhythm on the combination knotted the score at 15-all.
Just as the Green-and-White began to pull the strings, the Lady Bulldogs leaned on their off-the-block tactics to stay afloat. On the dangerous brink of falling, a costly net touch and a Laput mishit handed the defending champions a two-point leverage, 22-20. Unfazed, Provido remained a steady option in the middle. With the help of an ace from their unforeseen miracle, Reyes’ ace, and Canino’s conversion, the Lady Spikers pulled away from the 15-deadlock standoff to seal the set, 25-23.
Photo finish
When the crowd of 19,419 roared in unison, the Lady Spikers and the defending champions answered in kind with a nail-biting decider. Lamina had the steady pulse, setting in deceptive feeds and variations to nudge NU ahead, 7-6.
The set turned into a war of inches, with every possession contested. Errors crept in on both sides, but Provido met every lapse with timing and grit as precision wavered. Laput stood up exactly when it mattered most, refusing to let the 14-0 story break, pushing La Salle to 14-13.
With a Finals berth at stake for the green shirts, the arena fell into a tense stillness as Canino and Alinsug traded the final touches in a disputed sequence that escalated into a referee challenge. The decision was rendered with a net infraction confirmed, awarding the Taft-based squad the most crucial point of the eliminations. In that final sequence, they did not simply close a match but sealed it in silence and steel, capping off a battle-tested 14-0 campaign, carved through discipline and carried by the enduring heartbeat of the Animo spirit.
Despite punching their ticket to a 22nd Finals appearance, Lady Spikers’ Assistant Coach Noel Orcullo admitted that the result was an “ugly win” marked by an erratic performance and a tense fifth-set escape. Nonetheless, whether or not it was “destiny” at play, he knew one thing for sure: the team’s persistence and heart carried them through. “Talagang ginusto talaga nilang manalo,” he noted.
(They really wanted to win.)
Much of the credit went to Player of the Game Reterta, who delivered one of her best outings yet. The rising sophomore emphasized that something greater than doubt awaited them on the other end. Shaking off the pain in her knee in the late minutes of the game, she remarked: “Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa namin magagawa?”
(If not now, when will we be able to do it?)
Determined to avoid a repeat of their Season 77 heartbreak—an eliminations sweep that ended without a crown—Canino framed the match as a necessary “eye-opener” that will help them realize the lapses they can no longer afford as they inch closer to the title. According to her, they have no other choice but to continue coming alive. “Hindi basta-basta mabibigay sa amin ‘yung panalo,” she said.
(Victory will not just be given to us.)
Building on this, Orcullo stated that the work is far from over, stressing a “triple effort” mindset heading into the break: “Kung paano namin binuo ‘to, kung paano namin inumpisahan, ganoon din namin tatapusin.”
(We’ll end this the way we built and started it.)
Now taking a brief reset, the Green-and-White turn their focus forward, intent on sharpening their arrows as they gear up for the best-of-three Finals series.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Reterta 21, Laput 16, Canino 15, Provido 15, Del Castillo 7, Santos 1, Caringal 1, Buenaventura 0, Rodriguez 0, De Leon 0, Cabradilla 0, Nunag 0, De Guzman 0, De Jesus 0, Ewis 0
NU 2 – Alinsug 22, Panique 19, Maaya 15, Cantada 14, Mata 7, Marsh 5, Bombita 0, Pono 0, Jardio 0, Jacob 0, Salazar 0, Lamina 0, Serneche 0, Daylisan 0, Cepada 0, Escanlar 0
Set Scores: 27-25, 15-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-13
