Give And Go
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Following their four-set loss to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses on Sunday, the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs were seen breaking down in tears.
I would not blame the young NU ladies for such. Not only was it their fourth straight defeat, I guess some realization also sunk in that they are now on the ropes in the ongoing women’s volleyball tournament for Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
While the Lady Bulldogs were a picture of “dominance” in the opening round with a 6-1 record, in the second it has been anything but that as they have yet to book a win and have now fallen from first place to now fourth at 6-5.
NU is not exactly playing poor volleyball of late but just could not finish things in their favor.
One would think that at this point of the competition it is now about just adjusting some aspects here and there of a team’s game, yet we have seen erstwhile league-leading NU “regress” in one way or another.
The game against UST last time around was I think representative of how it has been for the Lady Bulldogs for much of the second round.
Looking at their game, I see a lot of “tentativeness” especially when things are not going their way and/or when they are being challenged big time.
Following a great first set where they came from behind to claim the frame, the Lady Bulldogs just could not sustain such for the rest of the match, especially during moments when push came to shove.
Jaja Santiago continued to be the dominant hitter that she is but collectively NU was just outplayed by UST which obviously had a firmer grip on its game and who it is as team.
Coach Babes Castillo tried everything he can to inspire and calm his players but the Lady Bulldogs were not able to respond once again, which undoubtedly is disconcerting, and even, scary.
Good thing for NU in its next two games it will be facing struggling teams University of the Philippines (3-8) and University of the East (2-9) before taking on Far Eastern University (7-4) in its last game.
It might be a good opportunity for the Lady Bulldogs to catch a break and book wins that could well help them create some distance from their closest pursuers Adamson University (5-6) and UST (4-7), and push them inside the Final Four.
But still the need for NU to shape up pronto could not be more underscored lest it find itself finishing another season with a lot of questions hovering over it.
It is not yet late as there are still enough games left to turn things around. So what gives, Lady Bulldogs?
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
