Angel Canino exceeded expectations in her first stint with the Alas Pilipinas Women’s squad.
The 20-year-old outside spiker from La Salle was converted to the opposite role heading into the AVC Challenge Cup. Without a doubt, she dazzled in her transition, emerging as the Philippines’ best scorer in the tournament.
Canino averaged 15.6 points over five games and helped Alas Pilipinas secure a historic bronze medal. She scored a game-high 14 points in the country’s 25-23, 25-15, 25-7 win over Australia in the third-place match.
To top it all off, the UAAP Season 85 Rookie MVP was named the Best Opposite Spiker of the tournament.
“Parang nagugulat ako sa result and nagulat ako na naging best opposite ako kasi knowing this AVC, marami akong kalaban sa spot ko so I didn’t expect anything,” said Canino shortly after receiving the well-deserved award.
Canino deflected the credit and dedicated the award to her coaches and teammates, who helped her smoothly transition to the opposite spiker position.
“Hindi ko naman talaga hinabol ‘yung award na ‘to, it’s more on making history talaga for the Philippines and it’s more of my teammates din talaga,” said the 5-foot-11 spiker from Bacolod.
“So credits talaga sa teammates ko, sa management, sa coaches kasi hindi ko magagawa lahat ng ‘to kung hindi dahil sa kanila. Sobrang na-appreciate ko [sila]. Itong award na ‘to, hindi ‘to akin. Para po ‘to sa kanila,” she continued.
After a stellar debut with the seniors squad, Canino is looking forward to more experiences with Alas Pilipinas on the international stage.
“Experience po kasi it’s a one-time thing. I mean it’s a national team, it’s a national stint but ano talaga, iba ‘to so part siya ng experience ko and hopefully mas ma-experience pa ‘ko ng marami.”
