Tots Carlos makes sure that she’s always at her best every time she fights for University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Volleyball tournament.
Bringing out her A game in every outing, Carlos, once again, led the collective effort of UP ending De La Salle’s three-game unbeaten run with a stunning 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12 victory on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Maroons team captain didn’t only provide the firepower on offense with 19 points — all coming from attacks, she also took care of floor defense with 18 excellent receptions and 17 digs in their biggest win of the season so far that earned herself the Chooks-to-Go/Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week honors.
“Mantra ko naman sa sarili ko kailangan ko maglaro lagi ng best ko kasi kailangan ako ng teammates ko, kailangan ako ng team,” said Carlos as UP ended La Salle’s 14-game winning streak dating back to last season. “Hindi ako pwede mawala lalo na captain ball ako sa kailangan talaga namin magtulungan.”
The 5-foot-8 wing spiker stood out among candidates De La Salle’s rookie sensation Jolina Dela Cruz, Ateneo’s go-to-scorer Kat Tolentino, UE star Judith Abil, FEU’s middle blocker Celine Domingo and Adamson’s outside hitter Bern Flora for the weekly plum given by beat writers from the broadsheets, tabloids and sports websites.
Becoming the second UP player to win the weekly honors with the season’s first player of the week Isa Molde, the 20-year-old spiker also emerged as the league’s top scorer averaging 17.75 points in their first four games capped by a win over La Salle that forced a triple tie from the first to third places with their victim and Ateneo with identical 3-1 win-loss records.
But Carlos is giving the credits to her teammates for beating the Lady Spikers for the first time since Season 79, when she was still a sophomore under former coach Jerry Yee.
“‘Yung will lang talaga namin manalo ‘yung parang naging bala namin. Gusto namin matalo yung La Salle, gusto namin manalo sa league na ‘to, gusto naming mag-champion, gusto naming mag-finals,” the fourth-year Lady Maroon said.
Despite the big win, Carlos wants to forget their massive upset and shift their focus on their remaining games as it is still a long way to go for the Lady Maroons’ title quest this season.
“Tapos na ‘to so kailangan na namin magfocus agad sa next game namin. Hindi na namin to iisipin kasi okay, one down,” Carlos said. “Next game naman, then next round kung paano ulit sila tatalunin.”
