By: Christian David Ruiz
National University’s Harlyn Serneche and Diza Berayo gave it their all in a finals rematch against Adamson University in the UAAP Season 87 Girls’ Volleyball Tournament.
The Lady Bullpups narrowly edged out the reigning champions Lady Falcons in a thrilling five-set battle, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13, on Wednesday.
Team captain Serneche, who scored 16 points, credited their victory to the team’s resilience.
“Ang masasabi ko po, ‘yong puso po talaga sa paglalaro namin, kasi po ‘yong kalaban po namin talagang hindi naman po basta-basta kalaban lang, kasi nagte-training din po sila, ‘yong skills po nila,” she expressed.
Berayo, who anchored NU’s defense with 13 excellent digs, emphasized that their championship experience helped them overcome last season’s gold medalists.
“Pinakita po talaga namin kung gaano kami katatag. ‘Yong NU, known as a champion team, so pinakita po namin ‘yong puso namin na champion team kami – na lalaban kami kahit anong mangyari,” the 5-foot-5 open hitter said, acknowledging Adamson as a formidable opponent.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
It was Adamson’s perfect run in Season 86 that earned them their first-ever championship and ended the Lady Bullpups’ dominance in the league.
“Kinausap ko po ‘yong isa po naming senior dati, si Miranda, ‘yong setter namin, na, ‘Ate Karyll, kung mananalo man po kami mamaya, para sa atin din po ‘to last season,’” the 17-year-old Serneche shared.
However, NU head coach Karl Dimaculangan noted that the Lady Bullpups had new goals as they entered a new cycle with a largely different lineup, having only four Lady Bullpups from the previous season.
“Sobrang happy naman, lalo na for the players kasi last ano namin [game], natalo rin kami sa FEU ngayong season. So, parang ‘yong focus ng team is bago na ulit, move forward na kami from last year to ngayon na since, ‘yon nga, maraming bago,” said Dimaculangan.
He hopes that the confidence gained from their win over the defending champions will carry into their next match against unbeaten University of Santo Tomas on October 6 at the Paco Arena.
