Standings W L
NU 9 1
DLSU 6 3
FEU 6 4
UST 5 4
UP 5 5
Ateneo 4 5
Adamson 3 6
UE 0 10
GAMES WEDNESDAY
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
1 p.m. – DLSU vs Ateneo
3 p.m. – UST vs Adamson
BOUNCING back swiftly from a heartbreaking defeat, defending champion National University now sets its sights on boosting its bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the next round going into the pivotal weeks of the 87th UAAP women’s volleyball eliminations.
The Lady Bulldogs moved a step closer to sealing their Final Four ticket after the Sampaloc-based crew picked up their ninth victory this season with a four-set win over the gutsy FEU Lady Tamaraws over the weekend, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18.
Led by skipper Bella Belen, NU went into the match armed with a renewed determination after absorbing their first defeat this season against the UP Fighting Maroons six days ago.
“Thankful talaga kami kasi naka-recover kami from the last game. Iyon naman iyong pinaka-importante palagi. So, makarecover kami sa loss namin, naka-move on so start ulit. Start ulit para makakuha ng twice-to-beat [advantage],” NU head mentor Sherwin Meneses said.
“We will prepare for the next game. Marami pang laro, talagang naka-focus kami lahat sa ginagawa ng team, sa every game kasi talagang nagkakabasahan na so talagang dapat lagi ka lang prepared,” he added.
Meneses, after the loss to UP, preached about the comeback mentality while focusing on what the team needs to improve on.
“Hhindi rin kadali (bouncing back) pero sabi ko nga, mindset ko iyong mga good things. Pag natatalo nagba-bounce back talaga iyan. Sa NU naman talagang good thing iyan – malaman lang namin kung saan kami nagkamali talaga sa mga last game namin iyon ang pinaka-importante,” he said.
Up next for the Lady Bulldogs are the feisty Adamson Lady Falcons on Sunday at the Big Dome as they seek to seal their semis spot.
“Sa twice-to-beat [advantage] lagi naman nandya yan pero ‘yung mindset namin talaga is, lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila, one point at a time palagi, kahit sino kalaban,” Meneses said.
“Yung advantage kasi ngayon, medyo mahaba iyong preparation namin kasi Sunday pa iyong game, di katulad this week talaga, talagang sobrang dikit, tatlong games sa isang linggo. So, siguro iyong situation naging maganda ngayon dahil six days kami makakapag-prepare paa sa Adamson.”
