After a record-breaking rookie year, merely keeping pace with the league’s heavyweights won’t be enough for Shaina Nitura.
Having steered Adamson University to a fifth-place finish last season, the Alas Pilipinas Women standout has set a clear goal for what promises to be a grueling campaign in the UAAP Season 88 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
It’s a return to the Final Four, and perhaps even more.
Nitura took the league by storm in Season 87, setting a new UAAP women’s volleyball single-game scoring record with 38 points and breaking the season-scoring record across all divisions with 371 points. She also became the first Lady Falcon to win Rookie of the Year.
But after such an impressive debut, Nitura says she’s done chasing individual accolades.
“Siguro, isa lang, to be in the Final Four or more than the Final Four — be in the championship. ‘Yon ang goal this season, wala nang iba,” Nitura told Tiebreaker Times.
It is indeed a lofty goal for a program that has missed the postseason for the past two seasons. First came a seventh-place finish in Season 86, then a fifth-place finish in Season 87. While the Lady Falcons showed flashes of brilliance against the league’s top teams, cracking the Final Four remained elusive.
And the road back will not get any easier.
Defending champion National University, perennial contenders University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, and Far Eastern University — along with a dark horse in the University of the Philippines — all loom as significant threats capable of disrupting the standings in the highly competitive eight-team field.
In a tournament as unforgiving as the UAAP, Nitura knows that talent alone won’t be enough to achieve lofty goals. They demand sustained excellence.
(C) V-League Images
“Actually, talagang crucial for us ay lahat ng games namin if we want to be in the Final Four, Finals, or even third place lang sa podium. Lahat naman inaabangan namin, pero for me, ang pinaka-crucial [na mga laban] ay yung mga games against contender ng Final Four,” the 21-year-old outside hitter from Cainta, Rizal, said.
“If we want to be in the Final Four, kailangan namin makatalo ng contender, na consistent namin matatalo sa first round and second round para makapasok kami sa Final Four.”
Battle-tested as early as August, Adamson endured a demanding offseason — highlighted by a breakthrough V-League title, a fourth-place finish in the 2025 Shakey’s Super League Pre-Season Unity Cup, and a grueling training camp — all serving as a necessary baptism by fire in its bid to return to UAAP women’s volleyball title contention.
Adding to the Lady Falcons’ arsenal is a more seasoned Nitura, who gained invaluable experience on the international stage representing Alas Women in the 2025 AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup (silver), the 2025 SEA Women’s V-League (two bronzes), the VTV Cup, and the 2025 SEA Games.
Now armed with hard-earned experience, a deeper sense of purpose, and greater maturity, Nitura turns her focus to powering Adamson’s long-awaited Final Four breakthrough.
“Actually, yung preparation namin was not easy. Sobrang hirap talaga. I think para sa lahat naman ng teams ‘yon na kasali sa UAAP, alam nila kung gaano kahirap yung off-season and pre-season,” Nitura explained.
“Speaking nga sa pre-season namin, maraming na-injure sa amin and maraming nawala this UAAP. Pero ayon, talagang nagtiwala lang kami kay Lord kung ano plans Niya for the team. Ngayon naman, we look good, and pinagtatrabahuan pa namin yung same things na pinagtatrabahuan namin before sa February 15,” she went on.
“Yung madadala ko naman na tulong for them na galing sa national team or yung mga pre-seasons namin ay magkaroon ng pasensya talaga ‘eh tsaka tiwala sa isa’t-isa, and give all lang palagi. Kung ibigay ni Lord, edi ibigay, pero kung hindi, at least we learned something.”
The Lady Falcons will open Season 88 against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles this Sunday, February 15, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
