For her late mother: La Salle's Lilay Del Castillo pours breakout game

MANILA, Philippines — When she woke up on Sunday morning, March 2, Lilay Del Castillo set her mind to one goal -- dedicate her game for her late mother Lilian Del Castillo who would have turned 61 years old.

Playing inspired, Del Castillo, 20, unleashed a breakout game as the De La Salle Lady Spikers beat the UP Fighting Maroons, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17, in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.

The sophomore middle blocker banged 11 points on four blocks, four aces, and three attacks as La Salle rebounded from a 5-set loss to UST to rise to 2-2, tied in third with FEU, Adamson, and UP.

"I'm really happy with my performance today because all the hard work I put into training paid off. It shows how much effort I put in this whole season. I'm really glad to gain confidence from this game," said Del Castillo, whose mother died in 2023.

"I'm especially happy with how I played because when I woke up this morning, I told myself I would dedicate this game to my mom since it's her 61st birthday today. I really wanted to make her proud, and I know she's always watching from the best seat in the arena. So, I told myself I'd give my best for her, always."

Del Castillo's breakout game backstopped that of ace spikers Angel Canino and Shevana Laput who banged 24 and 21 points, respectively.

The 5-foot-11 volleybelle hopes to build on this game.

"Of course, I want to keep improving every day. This performance could be the standard, but for me, it should never go down," said Del Castillo.

"I want to keep getting better and better with every game and training. That's where I get my confidence, hoping it translates into every game so I can contribute to the team and not waste the trust my teammates and coaches have in me to play on the court."