Camille Naredo

UP's Fina Ali in action against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 88 women's volleyball tournament, February 22, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media

UP's Fina Ali in action against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 88 women's volleyball tournament, February 22, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

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UAAP Season 88

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771765068169UAAP 88 WVB ADMU vs. UP- Sarah Ali-0050.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="UP&#x27;s Fina Ali in action against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 88 women&#x27;s volleyball tournament, February 22, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. UAAP Media" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">UP&#x27;s Fina Ali in action against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 88 women&#x27;s volleyball tournament, February 22, 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena. <em>UAAP Media</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- The wait was worth it for Fina Ali, who shined in her debut for the UP Fighting Maroons in UAAP 88 Women&#x27;s Volleyball at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.</p><p>Ali made her presence felt when she was called up during the third set, where she scored six of her 13 points.  </p><p>The 6-foot spiker from Nigeria delivered once again for UP in the fifth set, drilling a sharp crosscourt hit to put the Fighting Maroons at match point, 15-14.</p><p>Ali is glad her perseverance and preparation have paid off when she was given the chance to show her skills. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/volleyball/2026/2/22/uaap-up-outlasts-ateneo-in-five-set-thriller-to-complete-reverse-sweep-1706">READ: UP ends drought against Ateneo with thrilling reverse sweep</a></div><p>&quot;First, I will say I&#x27;ve been waiting for this time. I mean, I&#x27;ve been here for like, I watched two seasons already, but I wasn&#x27;t able to play and me playing today being my first day and all of a sudden I happen to be the one that changed the game,&quot; the Nigerian spiker said during the post-game press conference. </p><p>&quot;I feel my confidence now is well boosted up. Like, I feel I can do better. Like, this is just like a plus sign for me. And it&#x27;s kind of like reminding me that I have more to give,&quot; she added.</p><p>Ali credited her impressive performance to her teammates and the coaching staff.</p><p>&quot;Me going inside, I didn&#x27;t change the game. I believe we all did it. Like, we adapt to the system. And then from there, everything happened. Like, it just happened. And I appreciate everyone from the coach, everyone. We really fight and I&#x27;m happy for everyone,&quot; she said.</p><p>UP veteran Niña Ytang was all praises for her young teammate, who made an instant impact for the Fighting Maroons. </p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m very, very grateful to Fina, of course. She changed the whole game.... I don&#x27;t know if you remember this one, but sa Shakey&#x27;s, it was also Fina,&quot; Ytang said.</p><p>UP head coach Fabio Menta believes Ali will continue to improve after showing promise in her first game for the Fighting Maroons.</p><p>&quot;Fina is new and very young. And, uh, she worked with us for, uh, eight months. So, she&#x27;s still learning the system, learning, memorizing situations... Technically, she improved so much in the last seven months. We changed the way she serves, the way she approaches the net, the way everything,&quot; Menta said.</p><p>&quot;So, Fina is one of the greatest project, probably in UAAP for the next years. And and she will prove it, but she proved it already today. The UP head coach believes Ali will continue to improve, after showing promise in her first game for the Fighting Maroons,&quot; he added. </p><p>UP will face a tough assignment, the De La Salle University Lady Spikers, when they return to action on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YcbajegAapo?&amp;pp=0gcJCaIKAYcqIYzv&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The wait was worth it for Fina Ali, who shined in her debut for the UP Fighting Maroons in UAAP 88 Women's Volleyball at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.</p>

The wait was worth it for Fina Ali, who shined in her debut for the UP Fighting Maroons in UAAP 88 Women's Volleyball at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.

UAAP: UP's Fina Ali makes presence felt in first game for Fighting Maroons

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UAAP: UP's Fina Ali makes presence felt in first game for Fighting Maroons

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 22, 2026 08:58 PM PHT

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Updated February 22, 2026 08:59 PM PHT

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volleyball

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UAAP Season 88

UAAP volleyball

UP Fighting Maroons

Fina Ali

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