Blocking has long been De La Salle University’s signature weapon in UAAP Women’s Volleyball — a cornerstone of success for 12-time champion head coach Ramil de Jesus throughout his 28-year tenure with the Lady Spikers.
Under his guidance, La Salle has produced some of the most dominant middle blockers in Philippine volleyball history — from Maureen Penetrante and Aby Maraño to Majoy Baron, Fifi Sharma, and most recently, Thea Gagate.
And while the Lady Spikers finished the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament preliminaries as the second-best blocking team, De Jesus knew their net defense still had room for improvement.
With a coveted twice-to-beat advantage and the No. 2 seed in the Final Four on the line, La Salle returned to its roots and leaned on its trademark blocking game to secure a crucial four-set win over University of Santo Tomas, 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27, on Wednesday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Leading the charge in La Salle’s season-high 20-block performance was none other than rising middle blocker Amie Provido. The third-year standout proved to be the heir apparent to La Salle’s legendary “Taft Towers,” delivering five kill blocks en route to 10 points, anchoring the Lady Spikers’ formidable frontline.
Thanks to Provido’s defensive presence, La Salle clinched the playoff bonus for the sixth time in nine seasons, dating back to Season 77.
“Mahalaga kasi andyan sila sa akin nagtitiwala and before talaga parang hindi pa ako ganun kakumpiyansa sa blockings pero dahil sa kanila, kila Coach Noel [Orcullo], pinagtatiyagaan nila ako, pinanghugutan ko rin yun na kaya ko,” said Provido.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Beyond channeling her inner “Taft Tower” in La Salle’s most pivotal match of the season, Provido — who is also part of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation’s 33-player wishlist for Alas Pilipinas — shared that the team found motivation in their disappointing end to the eliminations, where they lost two of their last three games.
That stretch included a stunning five-set loss to a struggling University of the Philippines squad, followed by a defeat to fourth-seeded Far Eastern University.
“Siguro pinanghugutan din namin yung mga pagkatalo na yun kasi alam namin na hindi ganun yung performance na kaya namin and ngayon nalabas namin kaya kailangan namin ipagpatuloy kasi dito nagsisimula yung tunay na laban,” Provido shared.
“Happy lang din ako sa pinakita ngayon ng team, ng lahat ng teammates ko, pinakita nila ngayon na gusto nila, may puso. So ako binigay ko lang din yung best ko for them and sila din yung naging motivation ko and yung coaches. Yung pagkakaiba is mas confident na kami ngayon sa sarili namin and sa bawat isa may tiwala na kami kaya mas buo na kami maglaro.”
No one was prouder than longtime deputy coach Noel Orcullo, who emphasized that the team’s dedication to improving their blocking finally paid off — especially in such a high-stakes game.
“Samin naman, sinasabi namin sa kanila yung sa blocking, hindi naman dahil sa tangkad eh, it’s all about timing eh. How to read the setter, kung paano niya ise-set, at paano papaluin ng blocker. Kung ano yung iniisip nung spiker kailangan mabasa mo kung paano niya gagawin na palo at doon ka magbasa para ma[timingan] yung block, ma-block mo siya. Kailangan basahin mo kung ano yung mga gagawin ng kalaban mo. Mag-umpisa ka sa setter tapos sa set ng bola tapos sa [palo] ng spiker,” Orcullo explained.
“Yun nga ang sabi ko, ang ganda ng blocking namin ngayon na nakaka-read na sila. Kumbaga, yung tinitraining namin na blocking siguro nagmamatter ngayon, lumalabas. Sumusunod na sila sa binibigay na instruction sa kanila. So ayun, naging maganda iyong blocks.”
#WATCH: Coach Noel Orcullo beams with pride as Shev Laput, Amie Provido, and the Lady Spikers showed grit and heart in their #UAAPSeason87 playoff battle for the No. 2 spot vs. UST 🏐
📹 @ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/TqbAwPB9Xd
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 30, 2025
