Former UST star Eya Laure. Photo from PVL Images.MANILA — Eya Laure is no stranger to the modern-day rivalry between University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle University.
The former Golden Tigress had some of her finest moments in the UAAP against the Lady Spikers -- including her iconic 29-point outing in Season 85 in 2023 to dent the erstwhile unbeaten record of the Taft-based cagers. It's a performance that has since been immortalized by the "no sweep" meme.
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On the other hand, her last game donning UST’s Black and Gold also came against La Salle, the Season 85 Final 4 game wherein the Taft-based spikers eliminated the hitters from España in the Final 4 to enter the championship stage
The two proud institutions are set to meet anew two years later, as UST and DLSU will be battling not only for the twice-to-beat bonus but also in the Season 87 semifinals.
And with the familiarity that Laure has with this upcoming matchup, the 26-year-old star is anticipating another fierce encounter between UST and La Salle.
“Alam nating lahat ng players, after ng second round, may nararamdaman nang pagod so makikita natin kung paano nila ilalaban yung schools nila,” she said at the sidelines of a Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) and MVP Group of Companies press conference on Monday.
Laure, currently a free agent, is obviously rooting for her past school. However, she has a wish for both squads in their virtual Best-of-3 series which opens with their playoff for Top 2 spot on Wednesday.
“Sana lang maging healthy lahat ng players, wala nang injuries,” said Laure. “Yun naman ang pinaka importante, at mas masaya manood kung lahat nakaka-perform ng 100% para sa kanilang schools.”
The UST-La Salle match is scheduled at 2:00 p.m., at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
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