Casiey Dongallo
The past months saw the UAAP women’s tournament lose a few of its standouts to the professionals.
The league, nevertheless, continues to be teeming with talent.
Casiey Dongallo, for instance, is able to be the brand new face of the tournament.
Dongallo’s rise as a superstar-in-the-making nearly overshadowed her school’s moment within the highlight: University of the East (UE) got here from behind to beat Ateneo, 20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18, on Saturday, the primary time the Lady Warriors defeated the Blue Eagles since 2010. “The rationale why we got here to UE is to make history and this is a component of it. The remainder goes to be a process, so it’s going to take some time,’’ said UE assistant coach Obet Vital.
After which there are the celebrities from last season who proceed to shine their sheen.
Angel Canino, last season’s rookie-MVP, had 14 points and three of the team’s 10 blocks as defending champion La Salle made quick work of Adamson, 25-16, 25-16, 25-18.
Shevana Laput had 11 points within the win while Amie Provido found her time to shine with eight points.
“Every game, all I take into consideration is to deliver. We lost several players after last season, so it’s challenging. I’m blissful that I’m slowly gaining confidence,’’ said Provido.
Their heroics helped long-time La Salle coach Ramil de Jesus notch his three hundredth profession win within the UAAP.
“I never thought that I could reach that variety of wins. What’s really necessary for me are the condition and performance of my players,’’ said De Jesus after reaching the milestone in his twenty seventh season with the Lady Spikers.
Overall, he won 12 championships for La Salle, including last season, and by the looks of how they clobbered the Lady Falcons at SM MOA Arena, title No. 13 isn’t a distant possibility.
“Amazing,’’ said Canino of De Jesus’ record feat. “After I heard of it. I’m proud to be an element of it.’’
“Coach Ramil at all times tells us to take it one game at a time. That is our first game, however the exertions in practice has been paying off. It should help our cause to earn as many wins as possible,” said Canino.
Modest milestone
UE already notched a milestone too within the tournament this early—albeit a more modest one. The team won only six games prior to now six season, winning just one game within the last two years. The Lady Warriors have already matched that output of their first game.
“If we win two (this season), we’ve already matched the last two years. It’s going to be a bonus if we win three. It’s a brand new system that we delivered to UE. We’re blissful in regards to the win, but there’s loads of work ahead of us,’’ said Vital.
If the Lady Warriors meet their goal, it can be Dongallo on the spearhead of that success.
The rookie spiker from Catmon in Cebu was good as advertised, scoring 27 points in her collegiate debut, taking only one game to introduce herself to probably the largest volleyball audience within the country today.
“I’m just thankful to my teammates. I cannot have 27 points without them,” said Dongallo, who scored essentially the most points by a rookie in a debut.
Kizzie Madriaga, Dongallo’s highschool teammate from the California Academy, produced 16 excellent sets and libero Angelica Reyes took care of the defensive end with 22 digs.
“I used to be in a position to rating those points with the assistance of my teammates and Kizzie. After I got nervous at the beginning, my teammates were there to back me up,’’ said the 18-year-old Dongallo.
Dongallo, probably the most sought-after highschool players before committing to UE with Grace Fernandez, Jelaica Gajero and Madriaga, bagged the MVP plum in CAL’s title-winning campaign within the Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League last 12 months.
Her performance there hiked expectations and he or she has met every one to this point.
