Defending champion National University remains positive as the race to its dream back-to-back championship title hits major obstacles along the way. The Lady Bulldogs, who swept Season 84 all the way to the finals against De La Salle Lady Spikers, encountered stiff challenges twice in a row this week. NU absorbed a two-game slide for the first time since Season 81, with the recent beating coming from another straight-set loss at the hands of the unbeaten La Salle, which climbed to an 8-0 record. However, NU head coach Karl Dimaculangan has no pent-up frustration especially with how the reigning champion adjusted in its second-round encounter with La Salle.
*National University Lady Bulldogs head coach Karl Dimaculangan. (UAAP Media)*



“It was a good game naman. Kaso kinulang lang kami. So, kailangan namin move forward na agad ulit kami sa next game namin. Kasi second round na. Kailangan move on lang kami agad bawat game namin,” said Dimaculangan. “We remain positive pa rin naman. Kahit na anong mangyari na babawi at babawi kami. So, learning experience lang.” The Lady Bulldogs pushed the Lady Spikers to a tight first two sets before eventually running out of composure in the third set, which was completely different from their first-round meeting where they blanked. “Different stories kasi eh. Iyong first game kasi as in all La Salle. But now this game naman iyong mga endgame lapses namin siguro iyong malaking factor,” recognized Dimaculangan. NU committed 26 errors in its recent game compared to only 12 of La Salle, something that Dimaculangan hopes to remedy sooner as they move forward. “Kailangan namin i-correct iyon. Lalo na kung ganoon ka-close iyong game tapos sa dulo pa kami nagkakamali,” he added. The Lady Bulldogs will attempt to bounce back and snap their two-game losing streak at the expense of University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons when they meet on April 1 before the Holy Week break.