ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Volleyball devider NU, La Salle begin finals showdown

NU, La Salle begin finals showdown

Published May 10, 2025 03:28 pm

At A Glance

  • Defending champion National University and De La Salle rekindle their storied rivalry when they square off in Game 1 of their UAAP Season 87 women's volleyball finals series on Sunday, May 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bella Belen is set to lead the NU Lady Bulldogs anew in their title-retention campaign. (UAAP Images)
Bella Belen is set to lead the NU Lady Bulldogs anew in their title-retention campaign. (UAAP Images)

Defending champion National University and De La Salle rekindle their storied rivalry when they square off in Game 1 of their UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball finals series on Sunday, May 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Match is at 5 p.m. before an anticipated energetic crowd with both teams seeking to draw the first blood in their best-of-three championship affair.

This would be the third time in four years that the two squads are dueling for the crown, and the first since 2023.

They first battled in 2022 with NU winning the crown, before De La Salle seized the title the year after.

The Lady Bulldogs regained their bearings in 2024 by ousting the Lady Spikers in the Final Four before reclaiming the crown at the expense of University of Santo Tomas.

A lot may have changed over the past years, but expect former MVPs Bella Belen and Angel Canino to banner their respective crew

Retaining the title would be a fitting swan song for Belen as NU also banks on the guidance of head coach Sherwin Meneses, who is in his first UAAP finals appearance.

“Ang target talaga is ma-defend yung crown,” said Meneses, who formerly handled Adamson from 2012 to 2016.

Meneses added they would work on it “one point at a time”, but it was easier said than done as La Salle boasts of an experienced mentor in Ramil de Jesus, who is in his 21st finals appearance.

De Jesus, who has guided the school in 12 titles and eight runner-up finishes, however, is aware of NU’s strong chemistry.

“Since high school, makakasama na yang mga yan. Siguro samin, kailangan paghandaan namin,” said De Jesus.

“Kung siguro mailalabas nila yung ini-expect ko sa kanila t makakasabya kami at magkakaroon ng chance, malaki yung chance,” he added.

Joining Canino at the forefront of La Salle’s attack are Shevana Laput, Alleiah Malaluan, and Amie Provido with the help of Shane Reterta, Mikole Reyes, and Baby Jyne Soreno.

NU, meanwhile, not only has Belen, but also Alyssa Solomon, Vange Alinsug, Lams Lamina, Erin Pangilinan, and Sheena Toring.

Meanwhile, the NU Bulldogs guns for a five-peat when it starts its finals matchup against top seed Far Eastern University Tamaraws at 1 p.m. in the men’s division.

The Bulldogs are in their 10th straight finals stint while the Tamaraws, the winningest school in the men’s side, aims to bring back its old glory where they last won the title in 2012.

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.