La Salle’s Shevana Laput and her teammates huddle during a game against UP in UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball.–UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Shevana Laput urged the public to be “kinder” after La Salle captain Angel Canino received negative comments during a heartbreaking loss to University of Santo Tomas last Wednesday in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
Laput stood by their captain Canino after some social media users compared her leadership with the latter as she was seen rallying her teammates from the loss, which led to La Salle’s 1-2 start for the first time in 19 years.
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“I just wanted to be there for my team because I could tell they were all very upset,” said Laput after their bounce back 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17 win over University of the Philippines on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
READ: UAAP: La Salle scrapes past UP to get back on track
La Salle hitter Shevana Laput urges the public to be kinder.
Laput was seen huddling her teammates to keep their heads up after losing to UST last Wednesday.#UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/Aaxi1uKEda
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) March 2, 2025
“We believe that we should have won. But I could tell they were so hurt, and I feel like they didn’t recognize the efforts they had put in. So that’s why I was like, guys, up, up.”
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The Filipino-Aussie spiker said Canino–despite her frustrations–still huddled the team and urged them to move on.
“I just want to strongly encourage everyone on the internet, please, to be kinder and to understand that we all are human. At the end of the day, we’re human, we’re allowed to feel upset,” Laput said. “I heard what everyone was saying about Angel. And I do believe that’s very unfair to say that about her because she’s allowed to have that moment of, like, frustration.”
“It’s easy to just say, we don’t listen, we don’t care. But at the end of the day, we do care. But it’s about surrounding yourself with that closed space that, those connections who will tell you they’re wrong, who will be there for you. We’re very much there for one another. We understand one another,” she added.
READ: UAAP women’s volleyball: UST outlasts La Salle in five-set thriller
Laput dropped 21 points off 15 kills, three aces, and three blocks, while Canino poured in 24 points built on 20 spikes and four blocks to stave off UP and improve La Salle’s record to 2-2.
The third-year spiker is focused on guiding their younger teammates as they seek to trust the process by taking it one game at a time in their bid to rise from last year’s Final Four exit.
“There’s a standard that we need to bring because we know that the team trusts in us and we need to be able to be there for them so that they can rely on us and that they are allowed to make those mistakes and grow as players, knowing that we’re just here on the sides supporting them,” Laput said.
La Salle takes on winless University of the East on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
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