Coach Roger, Jaja Santiago and Myla Pablo on bench. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
What began as the season of potential has become a year of frustrations as National University immediately got stuck in a downward spiral of their own doing.
Three straight wins after an opening day loss were a treat for the Lady Bulldogs but it all went downhill from there, finishing the first round with a 3-4 record and sitting at an unglamorous fifth seed after a 3-1 start to Season 78.
It came to a point when head coach Roger Gorayeb had to walk out of their game against Far Eastern University on Sunday and on Wednesday he had to pull out his veterans in a match they eventually lost to University of the Philippines.
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“Nag seself destruct kami,” Gorayeb said. “Why? Hindi ko alam.”
This doesn’t go well for team who was perceived a challenger to Ateneo for a place atop the UAAP volleyball totem pole after winning a championship in the preseason tournament.
And that contender image the Lady Bulldogs have built is slowly being chipped away.
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“Yung na build mo na image na ito para sa NU unti unti nang nasisira, kung ganito kami nung simula wala namang problema,” said Gorayeb, who became the team’s chief tactician in Season 77 and immediately gave the Lady Bulldogs two wins to improve their standing to 4-3 in the same time period as this season’s.
Gorayeb said that things are just not working out for NU as a team that even their key players are not making impact.
“Confidence nila problema, something deeper than that na sila lang siguro makakasolusyon, parang alienated sila sa isa’t isa pag naglalaro, walang defense, walang block, walang opensa,” Gorayeb said. “You can just imagine pati si Jaja [Santiago] wala siyang naitutulong, si Myla [Pablo] wala ring naitutulong. Hindi ko alam, hindi naman sila magkaka away.”
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“Uninspired sila maglaro, hindi ko alam kung bakit, di sila dedicated.”
It even came to a point where Gorayeb had to speculate whether there is something wrong with the team’s structure itself.
Gorayeb knows the popularity not only of his team but also of his individual players and with that fame comes other voices.
“Maraming posibleng mangyari, basta ako aakuin ko lahat nang yan, sanay naman ako sa ganyan,” Gorayeb said.
“Pero first time kong makakaranas ng ganito, naiangat ko na sila, di ko alam kasi sabi nga eh (he then points to the ceiling) buo yan, pero di mo alam may anay sa loob niyan.”