National University-Sta. Elena gained not just the championship when the 2022 Spikers’ Turf Open Conference ended last Saturday night.
They also found a new leader in the form of Joshua Retamar – who is now up and ready to take on the role left by the likes of James Natividad and Ricky Marcos.
“Siguro lumalabas yung ano, may leader talaga sa loob,” said Alinsunurin, who was referring to the 6-foot playmaker.
Head coach Dante Alinsunurin could not be more proud of Retamar’s growth throughout the team’s build-up for the upcoming UAAP Season 85. And he believes that the strides that Retamar took these past months make him more than ready to finally carry the torch of the powerhouse collegiate program.
“Siguro, itong liga namin nakita namin doon kami nagkaproblema pero pagdating ng semifinals meron na talagang mukha yung NU kung sino talaga yung magdadala kaya sobrang natuwa ako kasi na-achieve namin ‘tong bagong liga namin,” he added.
Retamar proved his worth when he led his side to a four-set victory over Cignal to claim the Open Conference title – the school’s first since the Collegiate Conference in 2018. He finished with 20 excellent sets to go along with seven points.
The pride of Binan, Laguna also nabbed the Best Setter award in the process.
Alinsunurin said that this experience, which pitted them against the best club teams in the Philippines, will definitely help the team in its bid to win the UAAP Season 85 crown next year.
“Syempre yung pagkakuha namin ng champion talaga. Sobrang proud ako sa achievements ng coaches, ng players, ng school. Alam ko maraming natuwa sa pagkapanalo namin,” said Alinsunurin.
“Malaking factor para sa amin ‘to kasi nasukat namin yung team namin hindi lang sa collegiate pati sa mga club teams.”
