ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Collegiate devider "This is our season": Ytang, Maroons in high spirits after gutsy win vs Lady Bulldogs

"This is our season": Ytang, Maroons in high spirits after gutsy win vs Lady Bulldogs

Published Mar 1, 2026 12:31 pm

At A Glance

  • It was another grind-it-out triumph for the Maroons -- a stunning reverse sweep that was anything but easy -- as they clawed their way back to hack out a pulsating 16-25, 16-25, 25-22, 31-29, 18-16 victory over the erstwhile unbeaten Lady Bulldogs to flex their credentials this season.
From left, Jel Gajero, Niña Ytang and Casiey Dongallo of UP. (UAAP Images)
From left, Jel Gajero, Niña Ytang and Casiey Dongallo of UP. (UAAP Images)
Nina Ytang and the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons are in high spirits as they push for a stronger finish in this year’s UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball campaign following a gusty win over reigning champion National University last Saturday, Feb. 28.
It was another grind-it-out triumph for the Maroons -- a stunning reverse sweep that was anything but easy -- as they clawed their way back to hack out a pulsating 16-25, 16-25, 25-22, 31-29, 18-16 victory over the erstwhile unbeaten Lady Bulldogs to flex their credentials this season.
“Sobrang hirap kasi galing kami sa talo. Yung confidence namin masyadong mababa, that’s why nahirapan din kami sa first and second sets. I was thinking, ‘Kaya ba to?’” Ytang said.
“But kailangang mag-show up. Kasi amin to eh. This is our season. We’re manifesting this would be our season,” she added.
Part of Ytang’s drive was her decision forego initial plans of joining the pros. Instead, she stayed for another year, fueled by her team’s shared dream of giving UP a trophy it deserved.
“Yung mga seniors na kasama ko ngayon, they wanted to stay na dapat bago kami umalis, maganda yung result ng season. Yun lang talaga ang naging dahilan kung bakit kailangang season namin to,” said Ytang.
“Kaya kami nag-stay para dito,” she added.
Over the past years, UP has fallen short of breaking into the Final Four, with its last appearance coming in 10 years ago in Season 78, when the charge was led by Tots Carlos and Isa Molde.
So far, the Maroons tote a 3-1 record in tie with the Lady Bulldogs at second place, just half a game behind pacesetter De La Salle (3-0).
UP head coach Fabio Menta, however, isn’t letting the early success breed complacency, choosing instead to zero in on the lessons drawn from the team’s morale-boosting win.
“We worked very hard, we’re trying to understand that volleyball is like life, some days are good, some days are bad, you never give up, you come back stronger until it works,” said Menta. 
“So (today) was the best example that we could have these girls grow up, mature, as women also not only as players, I think we’re on the right path to do good things,” he added.
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.