Bulldogs remain perfect, but not after a scare from Tigresses
Bella Belen (right) battles Cassie Carballo and the Tigresses in a five-set classic before sweeping the first round of eliminations. —UAAP MEDIA
National U took down University of Santo Tomas (UST) in a classic on Sunday night, the last of seven teams the Lady Bulldogs humbled on the way to a first-round sweep in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament.
And the Lady Bulldogs intend to keep the status quo in the latter half of the eliminations to inch closer to their one true goal.
“At the end of the day, our only goal is to become champions,” Bella Belen said in Filipino after a 23-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-18, 15-9 nipping of the Growling Tigresses before more than 12,000 screaming souls at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“So we’re going to take it one game at a time, win or lose. Our goal remains that we should be [champions] at the end.
“It wasn’t easy, we almost lost,” Belen said. “So for us, our eagerness [to win] should always be there.”
Meanwhile, University of the Philippines showed what courage on the floor was all about in the first game, as the Lady Maroons withstood a record game by Adamson rookie Shai Nitura to pull out a 25-15, 15-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-10 victory.
“Earlier, I reminded the team that fear should not have a place on the court,” Joan Monares said. “We need to fight if we really want to win.”
Nitura dropped 38 points, breaking the league single-game scoring record previously held by the legendary Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo in Season 75 and UST’s Sisi Rondina in Season 81 when both had 35 points.
The Maroons closed out with a 3-4 record and will have some momentum heading into the second round.
The Bulldogs won for the fourth straight time over the Tigresses, who had their five-game winning streak snapped for a 5-2 record, since they lost to UST in the first round of Season 86.
No slowing down
A sweep of the title series last year counts in that streak, and the Bulldogs aren’t planning on slowing down one bit as Belen and Alyssa Solomon, like they did in their rookie seasons three years ago, powered them to an elimination-round sweep on the way to their first title in 65 years.
And now that they are leading this bunch on their final seasons, they are looking to achieve something they weren’t able to pull off previously—a back-to-back championship.
Solomon led the Bulldogs with 24 points made of 21 attacks and three blocks, while Belen delivered 19 points out of 14 kills, three aces and a block.
Vange Alinsug tallied 17 points apart from 10 excellent digs, Erin Pangilinan finished with 12 points and Lams Lamina distributed the ball with 33 excellent sets. Shaira Jardio did her job on defense with 20 excellent digs and 25 excellent receptions.
“We can’t be complacent [moving forward],” Lamina said. INQ
