There isn’t a more domimant high school volleyball program in the Philippines right now than Nazareth School of National University’s.
The Lady Bullpups have not only won the last four UAAP Girls’ Volleyball championships, they’ve also scored wins over collegiate programs in various other tournaments.
But, the Lady Bullpups were not as successful in their debut with Bali Pure in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference where the Water Defenders fell to Iriga City-Navy Lady Oragons.
Bali Pure head coach and the architect of the Lady Bullpups dyanasty Babes Castillo was still satisfied with what he saw from his young wards. Though he saw some hesitation from them, Castillo was happy to see the Lady Bullpups keep up with much older competition, featuring imports.
“I like the way they played, siyempre obviously in the third set that we won. But the first two sets, I think was anybody’s ball game. Meron lang, for the kids, may hesitation lang,” Castillo explained, adding that two-time Juniors Most Valuable Player Faith Nisperos sat the match out due to a sprained ankle while middle blocker Ivy Lacsina did not see play as he was still experimenting with his lineup.
“May hesitation noong first two sets eh. So meron tayong mga points na we should have taken, pero ‘yun nga, hesitation. Which I expect naman, kasi very young. Okay naman. I liked it.”
Season 80 MVP Mhicaela Belen took the spotlight early. The 15-year old scored a team-high 17 points while three-time Juniors Best Setter Joyme Cagande also looked comfortable with 28 excellent sets. Towering 15-year old Alyssa Solomon was also still getting her bearings while libero Jennifer Nierva and open hitter Princess Robles looked primed for the seniors division.
Knowing his girls, Castillo is excited to see how the Lady Bullpups will respond to pressure from elite opponents.
“I like the way they responded, very aggressive in their own level. So they just have to step up one notch higher, which I think will not be difficult for them as they progress sa games. Sabi ko nga, mag-evolve lang kayo nang mag-evolve, I think we can get it,” he thought.
Despite the early setback, Castillo is confident that Bali Pure will get better, especially with their second import, Janisa Johnson expected to make a splash after just coming off a France National Championship title campaign with Beziers Volley.
Castillo was also quick to denounce any eligibility issues his players might encounter with the UAAP. The country’s grandest collegiate league requires players to play at least one season before playing in any commercial/semi-pro league.
“We wrote them (UAAP) a letter, we made it formal, a formal request in letter form. We went back and forth diyan eh. Okay naman siya. They wrote back and they said okay.”
