SHEVANA LAPUT towered above everybody else as she reigned supreme as the first Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals.
An incoming sophomore at Taft, the 6-foot-2 spiker put on a stellar MVP run as University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion De La Salle beat Adamson University in Game 3 to annex the crown Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
“I feel honored but it was all because of my teammates. My teammates gave me that trust, they gave me that boost to hit and they gave the support,” said Laput, sister of Magnolia Hotshots center James Laput. “I could swing knowing that they’re there covering for me.”
She was joined by teammates Thea Gagate (1st Middle Blocker), Amie Provido (2nd Best Middle Blocker) and Alleiah Malaluan (2nd Best Outside Hitter), Adamson University’s Angelica Alcantara (Best Setter) as well as University of Santo Tomas’s Angeline Poyos (1st Best Outside Hitter) and Bernadett Pepito (Best Libero) in the Super Team.
Laput’s breakout performance came at a time when De La Salle needed it the most following the graduation of its championship core— setter Mars Alba, middle blocker Fifi Sharma and team captain and outside spiker Jolina D ela Cruz.
Laput, who also earned the Best Opposite Spiker award, averaged 20.3 points in the finals highlighted by a tournament-high of 30 points in Game 1.
She posted 18 points in Game 2 then 13 points on 11 hits and two blocks in the winner-take-all Game 3, which De La Salle put away, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17.
But Laput is far from being a complete player that she envisions to be as she sets her sight on UAAP Season 86.
“I mean it’s really great. It’s amazing. But I guess this makes me feel like I need to step up even more,” she said. “I need to work even harder, now that there’s a ‘reputation’ kind of thing.”