UAAP Rookie-MVPs Angel Canino and Bella Belen were two Alas Pilipinas players who caught the attention of Vietnam head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet in the AVC Nations Cup.
Former UAAP Rookie-MVPs Angel Canino and Bella Belen were two players from Alas Pilipinas who drew the admiration of Vietnam head coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet, after the two squads faced off in the Finals of the recently-concluded AVC Nations Cup on Saturday.
The two collegiate rivals connived as Alas Pilipinas’ first and third best scorers for the tournament, with Canino also nabbing one of the two Best Outside Hitter awards — marking the second year in a row that the DLSU star got an individual award in the AVC joust.
What made things more impressive for Tuan Kiet is the fact that Canino and Belen had much more firepower than they seemed to have, especially with their smaller stature compared to their Vietnam rivals.
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“In addition to familiar faces, player no. 12 and no. 4 stood out with impressive performances despite their modest height,” Tuan Kiet said through a translator.
Canino finished with 74 points in the tournament, while Belen was third in scoring for Alas Pilipinas with 58 markers.
Despite being quiet in their performance against Vietnam, the duo was pivotal in reaching the country’s first-ever Finals in an AVC tournament, which assured the country of its first-ever silver medal in the Asian level.
Against Chinese Taipei in the semifinals, Belen took the driver’s seat with 15 points, while Canino added nine markers of her own.
Alyssa Solomon is sandwiched in between the two players as she finished as the team’s second leading scorer with 62 points. This is despite having two DNPs in the tournament — one due to coach’s decision, and another due to injury.
(With reports from Mei-Lin Lozada)