ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Volleyball devider Belen, NU fueled by facing coach Ramil, De La Salle

Belen, NU fueled by facing coach Ramil, De La Salle

Published Jun 18, 2022 10:33 pm

There is something in De La Salle and coach Ramil de Jesus' winning tradition that fuels National University this season.

Michaela Belen of National University (UAAP Media Bureau)

Since the tournament began, NU meant real business against De La Salle and already hauled a 3-0 personal record. Apart from that, the Lady Bulldogs have yet to drop a single set against the Lady Spikers.

NU swept De La Salle in the first round, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19, before a 25-21, 25-20, 25-17 repeat in the next round.

And on Saturday night, June 18, NU star rookie Michaela Belen fired 11 spikes and two service aces for 15 points to help the Lady Bulldogs eke out a 25-20, 25-12, 25-21 in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 84 Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Aside from Belen, Alyssa Solomon also hammered down 15 points while Princess Robles and Ivy Lacsina scored 12 points apiece thanks to Camilla Lamina's 20 excellent sets.

"For me po, sobrang nag-iiba po kami pag La Salle po 'yong kalaban. "'Di ko rin po alam kung bakit po," said Belen, the league's top scorer and best server, with a giggle in between.

"Siguro po dahil 'yong history nila sobrang laki. Like 'yong kay coach Ramil, 'di ba marami na po siyang championship crown, so sa amin po mas ganado kami pag kalaban sila. Parang mas eager po kami talunin sila."

True enough as De Jesus, who has been calling the shots for the Lady Spikers for the past 25 years, has won 11 championship titles along with seven runner-up finishes in the UAAP.

While De La Salle and De Jesus have made history in their own ways, the Lady Bulldogs are also just a win away from achieving one.

NU only needs one victory from attaining a rare season sweep as early as Tuesday, June 21, and getting its first UAAP title in 65 years since Season 19.

Coach Karl Dimaculangan, for his part, said taking on powerhouse teams such as De La Salle simply brings the best out of his wards and extra motivation to compete.

"Motivated siguro 'tong mga players everytime na ganon 'yong kalaban, mga big games," said Dimaculangan. "Kaya binibigay nila lahat. So same lang din 'yong ginagawa. Siguro 'yong motivation lang talaga ng players pag dating ng mga ganitong laban."

READ: No room for complacency in Finals series, says NU coach Dimaculangan

Related Tags

Karl Dimaculangan Michaela Belen Lady spikers uaap fINALS UAAP Season 84 Ramil De Jesus de la salle lady spikers uaap NU Lady Bulldogs Lady Bulldogs
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.