Stability had been elusive for National University throughout the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Women’s Volleyball Tournament—particularly at the setter position, where constant rotation woes raised more questions than answers.
But with just three elimination round games left and a fifth consecutive Final Four berth within reach for the Lady Bulldogs, first-year head coach Reg Diego may have finally found their answer—and more importantly, the rhythm and chemistry NU needs to complete a rare three-peat.
For the first time this season, Diego leaned fully on the steady hands of senior playmaker Lams Lamina, sitting out junior setter Abe Pono and deploying the two-time UAAP Best Setter for the entire match in the Lady Bulldogs’ second-round clash against the Adamson University Lady Falcons.
The result? A performance that may have provided a solution to NU’s dilemma at the setter position.
Lamina orchestrated the offense with 20 excellent sets and three points in the Lady Bulldogs’ sweep of the Lady Falcons—a statement win that solidified NU’s hold on solo second place in the eight-team field with an 8–3 win-loss record.
“Coach’s decision naman siya, pero siyempre, why ruin something good, hindi ba? Maganda yung nilalaro ni Lams, so bakit tayo magpapalit?” Diego explained on Easter Sunday inside the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
“Okay naman si Abe rin for sure. She’s going to play well din if she’s there, but for now, Lams is working well… Everyone. And the connection are perfect. A win of one is a win of all.”
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
From the perspective of the 23-year-old playmaker from Guimaras, Lamina echoed her earlier sentiments, expressing her willingness to fill whatever role is needed in pursuit of the Lady Bulldogs’ fourth UAAP women’s volleyball championship in five seasons.
However, Lamina was the first to acknowledge that while she enjoyed her first full match of Season 88, there is still much work to be done to fully develop her chemistry with NU’s deep pool of hitters, including rookie standout Sam Cantada, team captain Vange Alinsug, and Arah Panique.
“Ako naman kasi, always ready naman ako kahit anong mangyari. Of course, yung mindset ko talaga ay naka-stay focused and kung ano man ibigay sa akin na role, tatanggapin ko talaga, para sa team,” Lamina shared.
“Very happy ako kasi nag-start talaga ’yan sa training. Pinagtrabahuan talaga namin ng mga spikers since on the last game, medyo kulang pa. Going towards the next game naman, sana mas matrabaho pa namin nang maayos.”
Looking ahead to the Lady Bulldogs’ final stretch of elimination round matches, Diego may have found her answer at the setter position, but she emphasized that NU will continue to stay objective in order to maximize the team’s chemistry from setter to spiker.
The Lady Bulldogs will next face the winless University of the East Lady Warriors before taking on crucial matches against the De La Salle University Lady Spikers and the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses to close the preliminaries.
“Syempre, as coaches, we have to be very objective all the time. We cannot discredit lahat ng efforts ng mga tao. We just make sure na malinis lang kami every game and yung connection talaga namin should be 100 percent all the time,” Diego expounded.
“At least nakukuha na namin ngayon yung gel, chemistry. Hopefully, mas malinis pa namin in the future, especially with the setters and their connections to the spikers.”
#WATCH: WHY RUIN SOMETHING GOOD? 🐶
Regine Diego explains her decision to start Lams Lamina in the crucial stretch of #UAAPSeason88 🏐#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/C6xQKNL6tf
📹 @ErnestTuazon /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/NF3ZwDTDdB
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 5, 2026
