Season 79 promised to be an exciting new chapter for the UAAP. After as several of its pillar stars graduated last season, the search for a new star has been as ruckus as the chase for a Final Four spot.
The UAAP MVP and statistical race has not been this wide open in years. In this article, we take a look at the players that have proved to be truly elite after a frantic first round.
Jaja Santiago: Offensive Savant
Standing at 6-foot-5, with arms that easily reach past the net, National University’s Jaja Santiago is a sight to behold at the net.
The two-time UAAP Best Attacker has expanded her game this year, and the Lady Bulldogs have needed every bit of her brilliance. The Cavite native leads the league in scoring (128 total points), and is second in attacking (40.09%), first in blocking (.93 block kills per set), and fourth in serving (.59 aces per set).
Middle hitters do not usually dominate in volleyball like this, but Santiago is NU’s best option. Her teammates have been offensively sporadic this season (the next best scorer on NU, Jorelle Singh, has just 69 points, 14th in the league) and defensively (NU rank 7th in the league in service reception and 8th in digging).
Still, NU setter Jasmine Nabor has made the most out of NU’s subpar first touches to give Santiago good looks (Nabor averages 11.15 excellent sets per match, fourth in the league). The Lady Bulldogs will benefit more by bringing up their defensive numbers, which will inevitably result in a spike in Santiago’s offensive numbers.
Michelle Morente making up for lost time
As the Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles succumbed to rivals De La Salle University Lady Spikers in the Finals last season, Michelle Morente became one big “what if?”.
Having sat out Season 78 due to academic deficiencies, Morente watched as her teammates missed her all-around presence on the court. Whether or not she could have shifted last season’s results is now lost in the past. But Morente is making a strong case with her play this season.
The opposite spiker was the first round’s most efficient attacker (41.34%), third best server (.60 aces per set), and fourth best scoer (98 total points). The California native proved the difference in the first Ateneo-La Salle match this season, scoring a career high 25 points to lift the Lady Eagles to the top of the standings.
She also has two triple-double this season, solidifying her place in the MVP race. If the Lady Eagles can keep winning at a high rate, Morente could walk away with her first MVP plum.
Bernadeth Pons: Diminutive Domination
When it comes to all-around players, there are few better in the country than the Far Eastern University’s Bernadeth Pons.
At 5-foot-7, Pons is not the tallest of open hitters. But the fourth-year veteran has blossomed into one of the league’s most athletic and skilled players.
The Negros Occidental native is second in scoring (98 total points) and sixth in attack percentage (34.53%). Her explosive leap and hang-time gives her supreme leverage over blockers three or four inches taller than her. She has also polished a nifty back row attack that she often bends into an off-speed hit.
But Pons shines the most in the back row. FEU head coach Shaq Delos Santos called Pons “FEU’s second libero” on the court. Pons ranks near the stop of defensive statistics next to the league’s best liberos. The 21-year-old is sixth in digging (3.89 digs per set) and third in serve receive (43.71%). Pons’ tremendous defense has led to three triple-doubles this season, the most in the league.
FEU are locked in a tight race for a Final Four spot with five other teams. For them to succeed, they’ll need more consistency from Pons and their supporting cast.
The chase for Best Libero and Best Setter
Two of the most coveted positional awards, Best Setter and Best Libero, will most likely go down to the wire this season.
Ateneo’s Jia Morado (13.32 excellent sets per set) leads La Salle’s Kim Fajardo (13.13 excellent sets per set) by the slimmest margin. The pair each have two of the last four Best Setter plums. With Fajardo playing her final season, this race is the tiebreaker for who truly is the Best Setter in the league.
With the NCAA making the shift to positional awards, the UAAP is poised to do the same, leaving only one award for liberos to vie for. Last season, La Salle’s Dawn Macandili won both Best Digger and Best Receiver by a landslide.
Season 79, however, saw the emergence of University of the East defensive specialist Kath Arado. Macandili and Arado have been slugging it out in the rankings, with the Season 77 Rookie of the Year topping the digging department (6.63 digs per set over Macandili’s 5.48) while the PSL MVP has the lead in the reception (49.15% over Arado’s 45.45%).
With La Salle ranking much higher than UE in the standings, Macandili might end up taking the edge if this trend continues. But if Arado can take over both departments, then she might pull an upset.
