On May 5, 2019, De La Salle University’s bid for a historic four-peat and a streak of 10 consecutive Finals appearances came to a crashing halt after being eliminated by rival University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 81 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
The Lady Spikers later achieved redemption when they ousted the Golden Tigresses in the Final Four of Season 85 on the way to the title.
Then in Season 86, it was UST’s turn to return the favor. Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, UST dethroned La Salle in a gritty five-set showdown — once again at the SM Mall of Asia Arena — knocking the Lady Spikers out of title contention.
Now, with the pain of a rare bronze-medal finish (just their second in the past 14 seasons) fresh in their minds, the Lady Spikers are hungrier than ever to reclaim their place on top.
Powered by Angel Canino and Shevana Laput, they secured the No. 2 seed in Season 87 — and are now one step closer to rewriting their story.
Laput, a key pillar for La Salle from Seasons 85 to 87, has made it clear: she’s ready to do whatever it takes to change the narrative.
From being tagged as underdogs behind last season’s finalists UST and National University, to proving they still have what it takes to win a 13th UAAP women’s volleyball crown, Laput and the Lady Spikers are laser-focused.
“This triumph was for the people who were in the lineup last season, we re-wrote our story,” said Laput, who dropped 22 points on 19 attacks during La Salle’s thrilling 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27 victory over the Golden Tigresses on Wednesday afternoon in Pasay.
“With this new team, we know that we can go all the way to the end. This is just a confidence booster. This shows that we are capable.”
La Salle’s road to redemption, however, was anything but smooth. Entering the battle for the last twice-to-beat edge, the Taft-based squad had lost two of their final three elimination round games.
The Lady Spikers suffered a heart-wrenching five-set defeat at the hands of the already-eliminated University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, and then faltered again against the fourth-seeded Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws in their regular season finale last Saturday.
Those losses stung — not just emotionally, but also strategically. Had they beaten UP and FEU, La Salle would have clinched an outright twice-to-beat advantage. Yet instead of dwelling on what could have been, Laput urged the team to use those setbacks as fuel for their Final Four push.
“I mean, this playoff was such a big opportunity for us. Despite everything that has happened in the elimination round, we were given this playoff chance, and we were not gonna throw away this shot. We fought for this,” Laput said.
“We definitely put our hearts out, everything out, because we know we need this. This twice-to-beat. This is our best opportunity and of course, I’m super proud of all of us. We all contributed to this win and that’s all I can say, I’m just super proud of all of us.”
Echoing Laput’s sentiments, La Salle deputy head coach Noel Orcullo praised the team for showing the grit and hunger required to make a deep postseason run — especially after what happened last year.
“Siguro yung difference nila ngayon, siguro itong mga batang ‘to, gusto nila [manalo]. Kasi last year medyo nagkulang eh. Kumbaga, towards the end of the second round medyo bumaba na yung demeanor na gusto manalo. Talagang kulang. Eh ngayon, siguro yung mga bata napu-push through our ano na rin na guidance na i-ano yung sarili nila, kung ano yung gustong mangyari ngayong season sila yung gagawa,” Orcullo shared.
#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
