They say champions keep playing until they get it right — and National University proved just that, shaking off a stunning loss to University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament last Sunday night.
Four days after a monumental five-set collapse against the Fighting Maroons, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back with sharper composure and a stronger finishing punch, defeating Far Eastern University in four sets, 25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Yung NU naman, talagang good thing ‘yan. Malaman lang namin kung saan kami nagkamali talaga sa mga last game namin, ‘yun ang pinaka-importante,” said NU head coach Sherwin Meneses after the win.
Expected to dominate against UP, NU instead unraveled, failing to close out the match despite holding a 2-1 set lead. They ultimately faltered in the fifth, 24-26, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 12-15, suffering their first loss of the tournament.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
This time, however, the defending champions regained their grip, staying composed even after dropping an extended second set to the Lady Tamaraws. With better execution down the stretch, they closed out the match in four sets to secure a much-needed bounce-back victory.
Meneses admitted that lifting the team’s spirits after such a tough loss wasn’t easy. But he remained confident, trusting their resilience and ability to respond the way they always had — by coming back stronger.
“Siyempre, hindi rin madali, pero sabi ko nga, mindset ko yung mga good thing—pag natatalo, nagba-bounce back talaga ‘yan,” said the PVL champion coach.
“Thankful talaga kami kasi naka-recover kami from last game. ‘Yun naman yung pinaka-importante palagi — so maka-recover kami sa loss namin, naka-move on, so start ulit,” he added.
With their sights set on a second straight title, the Lady Bulldogs are now fully focused on securing one of the two twice-to-beat advantages in the Final Four.
“Start ulit para makakuha ng twice-to-beat,” he said.
“So mag-prepare [kami] sa mga next game, at syempre, marami pang laro, talagang naka-focus kaming lahat sa ginagawa ng team sa every game, kasi talagang nakakabasahan na ng team. So talagang dapat lagi ka lang prepared.”
