Angel Canino will once again lead the DLSU Lady Spikers for the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
Throughout Round 2 of the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Volleyball Tournament, Angel Canino could only watch from the sidelines as her DLSU Lady Spikers struggled late into eliminations following a freak injury to her right forearm.
Canino did return for the Lady Spikers’ Final Four matchup against the UST Golden Tigresses, but it all went for naught as the España-based squad foiled their title defense campaign.
It’s been a year since that failed repeat bid, but the wound of that heartbreak remains fresh for the former Rookie of the Year-Most Valuable Player. With DLSU looking to reclaim lost glory in Season 87, it’s this pain that’s fueling Canino as she makes up for lost time on the Taraflex.
“For me, ayoko na uli mangyari uli ‘yun, na ‘di ako makapag-contribute sa team and andon lang ako sa gilid. Gusto ko talaga na tutulong ako sa makakaya ko sa team,” Canino said during the Season 87 Collegiate Volleyball press conference on Thursday.
Given DLSU’s storied UAAP women’s volleyball history, the 21-year-old knows that a mere podium finish simply wont cut it for the Ramil de Jesus-led program.
“Syempre malaking hugot ‘yun, kasi ang goal talaga namin as a team, as a Lady Spiker and ng mga coaches is mag-champion po palagi, so mabigat sa puso namin na kahit bronze kami. So we try na taasan ‘yung level na meron kami ngayon, and we try na maging best na sarili namin para sa upcoming Season 87,” the one-time Best Outside Hitter reflected.
Angel Canino will enter UAAP Season 87 as the Lady Spikers’ team captain, which she’s taking as a challenge to rally her team as a united front in their redemption tour. For Canino, it’s also the perfect time to apply the lessons learned from her seniors such as then-captain Julia Coronel and star middle blocker Thea Gagate.
“Biggest lesson ko sa kanila is that kahit ang dami nang pinagdaananan ng team, kahit gaano namn kabigat, andyan sila to guide us and andyan sila i-motivate kami kahit sobrang bigat na,” the De La Salle-Zobel product shared.
“Kahit anuman pinagdadaanan, walang bibitaw samin, kundi mas magiging stronger pa ‘yung bond namin and magiging strong pa ‘yung communication namin kahit ang dami na naming pinagdadaanan. Kahit ang dami nang parang hindi naniniwala samin, dapat bawa’t isa amin may tiwala pa rin.”
Canino will also look to apply her learnings from the Alas Pilipinas national team, where she was part of their bronze medal finish at the AVC Challenge Cup last May with veterans like Sisi Rondina, Jia Morado-De Guzman, and Dawn Macandili-Catindig.
Despite being an outside hitter, Canino also played as an opposite spiker for Alas, which highlighted her versatility and unmatched commitment to winning.
“Syempre if kasama nyo ‘yung mga ates niyo, syempre marami kayong matututunan, lalo na kung naglalaro, like ‘yung maturity sa loob. Kailangan hindi lang palo nang palo, kailangan all-around ka, so syempre sinasabi ko din naman ‘yun [sa DLSU] and tina-try ko i-apply sa teammates ko na ganon dapat ‘yung mindset, na hindi lang sa palo madadaan,” she said.
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.