La Salle veteran Shevana Laput rained praise on her teammates after they maximized the chance given to them in their playoff win over UST.
The DLSU Lady Spikers made sure to seize the moment as they were able to answer the call in a competitive one-game playoff for the twice-to-beat advantage in UAAP Season 87, beating the UST Golden Tigresses in a tough four setter, 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 29-27, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
After last year’s heartbreak when they were dethroned by the Golden Tigresses, La Salle had much more to fight for this time around. For Shevana Laput, who was there when UST shut the door on their title defense last year, it was a good fight back for the Taft spikers.
Apart from a redemption story, it also gives them the upper-hand come their Final Four matchup beginning this weekend.
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DLSU repulses UST to gain twice-to-beat bonus in Final Four]
“I mean, this playoff was such a big opportunity for us. Despite everything that has happened in this, in the elimination round, we were given this playoff chance and we were not gonna throw away this shot. We fought for this. We definitely put our hearts out, everything out, because we know we need this. This twice-to-beat,” said Laput after the game.
“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.”
Laput herself showed fight, especially in the clutch, as she was the one to supply the finishing point to send UST crashing down in Set 4.
Now winners of two straight against their tormentors in recent seasons, Laput said that it was such a significant victory that will hopefully prove to themselves that they are, in fact, up to par with the rest of the Top 4 teams.
“Of course, of course [it feels like redemption]. Especially for the people who were in the lineup last season, we re-wrote our story and 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,” she said.
As for how they were able to handle their second round losses against UP and FEU, Laput said that it’s simple proof that they are able to take their setbacks on the chin and learn from it to be better than ever.
When it matters the most, La Salle has delivered.
“I’m super proud of everyone because we did move on, we chose not to dwell on what has happened. We chose to focus on what can happen and the opportunities that are coming our way. We’ve stopped just waiting, we’re taking. We’re taking the win because know that we deserve it. We earned it,” she said.
La Salle and UST collide in a must-win match for the latter when the Final Four officially commences on Saturday, May 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.