Laput defends Angel amid backlash

(UPDATE) GOING viral on the internet was Angel Canino's frustrated look after De La Salle fell to UST in an epic 5-set battle, 12-25, 25-22, 25-13, 23-25, 13-15, in the UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena on February 26.

Through the broadcast and some fan videos, Canino was seen standing for a bit and visibly frustrated before huddling with her team at the end of the match — an act that a lot of fans didn't like with some saying that it's not what a team captain is supposed to do.

Shevana Laput, whom fans admired after making the effort to uplift libero Francesca Rodriguez — whose error clinched the match for UST — and leading the way to huddle the defeated Lady Spikers, went out of her way to defend Canino.

Laput, a third year spiker like Canino, said that the Season 85 Rookie of the Year and MVP is allowed to have that moment of frustration, pleading the fans to take it easy on her batchmate.

"I just want to strongly encourage everyone on the internet, please to be kinder and to understand that we all are human," said Laput, who joined hands with Canino in La Salle's 25-22, 24-26, 25-18, 25-17 rebound win on Sunday.

Laput fired 21 points while Canino banged 24 as the Lady Spikers improved to 2-2.

"At the end of the day, we're human. We're allowed to feel upset, because I heard what everyone was saying about Angel. I do believe that's very unfair to say that about her, because she's allowed to have that moment of, like, frustration," said Laput.

"And what the camera didn't get was that after that, she also huddled the team. It was just, it [just] so happened on the TV, they saw me. But coming from that game, we just were like, 'move on, move on', it was something done in history, we can't focus on the past, we need to be in the present."