Never missing stars, Lady Bulldogs inch closer to ‘bonus’
Several questions hovered over National University after its shock loss to Adamson—its second meltdown against a struggling opponent—in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
Not that Bella Belen was paying attention, nor did the Lady Bulldogs care.
“You know, we’re not paying too much attention to social media. And in victories and losses, we keep everything within our circle,” Belen told the Inquirer in Filipino.
That circle shushed those questions on Wednesday with a decisive, 25-8, 25-22, 25-12 conquest of University of the East that put the Lady Bulldogs firmly on top of the standings—where many felt they should be throughout their title-retention bid—and in command of the race for Final Four protection.
“I keep telling everyone in the team we’re a squad before anything else. If we lost the [University of the Philippines] and Adamson matches, it’s not because one player did not come through, it’s because we didn’t want the win more than the other team,” the reigning MVP said after the game at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
“I’m just happy we’re able to show today that we’re capable even despite being a player short,” Belen added, referring to ace opposite hitter Alyssa Solomon, who continues to be on the mend due to a bum ankle.
Belen led by example and finished with 16 points to go with 13 digs and eight receptions. Vange Alinsug and the unheralded Aisha Bello from Nigeria chipped in nine each in the triumph that hiked NU’s record to 10-2 (win-loss), putting themselves within a win of officially capturing the crucial twice-to-beat bonus.
Khy Cepeda and Van Babgayan delivered six and five points, respectively, for the Lady Warriors, whose search for a breakthrough win has dragged on for 12 meetings.
Save for a tight second set, the Lady Bulldogs looked unaffected by their stunning four-set loss at the hands of Adamson and its super rookie Shaina Nitura last Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Many felt that the loss was due to cracks in the roster, as Solomon, who also missed that contest, was accounting for 20 points each contest.
Belen doubled down on the latest victory’s message for the people who missed it.
“We’re not striving to win through having a star player. We aspire to be a star team that, regardless of who’s out and who’s gonna play, is still highly capable of competing,” she said. Meanwhile, Far Eastern University pulled out a 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-13 victory at the expense of once-mighty Ateneo to continue knocking at the Final Four door.
“Ateneo is Ateneo. But we’ve been out of the Championship or Final Four [picture]. So we used that as our goal,” head coach Tina Salak said.
