Sam Cantada continued to soar in her rookie year with National University, dropping a season-high 32 points on Wednesday.
More importantly, her career-best performance fueled the Lady Bulldogs’ vengeful victory over the UP Fighting Maroons, 24-26, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 15-8, in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball second round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 19-year-old rookie from Dasmariñas, Cavite scored her 32 points on 27-of-52 attacks, added three blocks and two aces. She also showcased her defensive prowess with 18 excellent receptions and 13 excellent digs.
Cantada’s scoring spree was the highest by any Lady Bulldog since Alyssa Solomon put up 34 points in Game 2 of the Season 85 Finals on May 14, 2023.
But Cantada, who was hailed as a “super rookie” by De La Salle head coach Ramil de Jesus last Sunday after their first-round clash, stressed that milestones mean little without a championship for National U.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Siyempre po, grateful po ako kay Lord kasi nabigyan Niya po ako ng talent, kung ano man po ang meron ako ngayon,” Cantada said, acknowledging her achievements.
“Siyempre hindi pa naman po tapos, so hindi po ako magsi-stop kasi wala pa naman po eh. Hindi pa kami champion eh. So kailangan pa namin mag-aim pa po and pagtrabahuhan pa po,” she quickly added.
UP defeated NU in the first round via a reverse sweep, 16-25, 16-25, 25-22, 31-29, 18-16, last February 28 at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
It was also in that game that Cantada suffered a right shin injury, which forced her to miss a match.
Still, she didn’t dwell on revenge against UP. Instead, her focus was on bouncing back after NU’s loss to La Salle to end the first round last Sunday.
“Siyempre po, galing din kami sa talo, which is sa La Salle po, so pinanghugutan lang po namin yung game namin sa La Salle. So inall-out lang talaga namin yun,” Cantada said.
“It’s now or never na po talaga.”
#WATCH: PINANGHUHUGUTAN NAMIN YUNG GAME NAMIN SA LA SALLE 🐶
Sam Cantada says she won’t stop after firing a career-high 32 points against UP 🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/OaJxOHUgAT
📹 @ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times #UAAPSeason88 pic.twitter.com/Df40XRrL7l
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 18, 2026
