Despite being "limited" against FEU, NU star rookie Sam Cantada fired a near triple-double as the Lady Bulldogs maintain a perfect record in UAAP Season 88.
There are no worries for coach Regine Diego regarding Sam Cantada's relatively quiet performance in NU's reverse sweep of the FEU Lady Tamaraws in UAAP Season 88 Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Fully confident of Cantada's skills, Diego believes that the FEU game would do no harm to the NU rookie’s spirit.
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“Technically, this is Sam we're talking about. She's not the kind of girl who's going to back down just because she had a bad game or she gets blocked a lot of times. Di yun yung character niya,” Diego said after the match.
“I think wala kaming probelma sa confidence level [niya].”
True enough, Cantada recovered well after a slow start and was key in the Lady Bulldogs' five-set comeback. While not as explosive as her first two games, Cantada's final line was a near triple-double of 10 points, 11 receptions, and nine digs.
Meanwhile, Arah Panique picked up the scoring cudgels and poured a career-high 27 points, and Vange Alinsug added another 15.
As Cantada navigates her first year with NU, Diego hopes that the rookie can take these "slow" games as lessons to further diversify her game.
“I think we just have to improve her skills. Madami pang variations ng atake. But other than that, I don't think we have a problem with Sam,” Diego said.
After playing thrice in a span of six days, Diego’s Lady Bulldogs now face a lengthy break.
They return to action next Saturday, February 28, against the UP Fighting Maroons at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion, where they hope to protect their unblemished record (3-0).
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.