After losing its first game in the UAAP Season 86 men’s volleyball tournament, National University is on a romp, winning its next seven games to top the league standings.
Their next game is against University of Santo Tomas – the lone team that has defeated them so far – and the Bulldogs have surely marked March 24 on their calendar.
They will collide on Palm Sunday at 12:00 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Despite the history between them, NU captain Joshua Retamar is making it a point to tell his teammates not to be too eager to get back at the Golden Spikers.
Instead, they should focus on retaining their good display in the past seven matches.
“Siguro yung gigil, mapupunta na lang yun sa pag-score namin. Siguro may part na rin na dahil gusto namin makabawi,” said Retamar on Wednesday after they defeated winless University of the Philippines.
“Pero yung sistema lang ang pagfo-focusan namin para ‘pag nagawa namin nang maayos yun, alam namin lalamang kami.”
Nico Almendras, another senior of the Bulldogs, admitted that there would be feelings of revenge in their game against UST.
But just like Retamar, he emphasized that they should not forget about the system that has allowed them to sustain their ongoing winning streak.
The duo of Almendras and Retamar have been the vocal leaders of the Bulldogs, an important part of their climb.
“Siyempre kahit sino man sa amin, gustong makabawi. So sa training pa lang, kailangan focused kami sa bawat gagawin namin at papagawa ng coaches. At yun nga, yung sistema pa rin yung gaganda pagdating sa game,” said the 24-year-old spiker out of Batangas.
Head coach Dante Alinsunurin, on the other hand, cautioned about the mentality of getting back against UST.
According to the decorated men’s coach, it often becomes a distraction that can affect their game negatively.
“Mamaya pa lang sasabihin ko sa kanila [na] hindi kailangan ng bawi. Kailangan importante maglaro lang kami on Sunday at trabahuhin namin sa training,” said Alinsunurin.
“Yung bawi na yun, nag-iiba yung mindset ng mga bata sa bawi eh. Alam mo yun, nawawalan ng control kaya ngayon pa lang o mamaya sa huddle namin, yung bawi tatanggalin ko na.”
