NU star and captain Bella Belen knows that her Lady Bulldogs’ mettle will be fully unleashed by fine-tuning their mental game.
Despite coming in as heavy favorites, the NU Lady Bulldogs have looked vulnerable late into the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Volleyball Tournament.
After finishing Round 1 with a 7-0 record, the Lady Bulldogs have already suffered two losses in the second round of eliminations, falling to the UP Lady Maroons last March 26, and the Shaina Nitura-led Adamson Lady Falcons a week later on April 7.
These two losses will go down as some of Season 87’s biggest upsets, given that both UP and Adamson are rebuilding teams, while National U is fielding a core that has already delivered countless UAAP volleyball titles to Jhocson.
Sure, there is the raw potential of those teams, and even an ankle injury to Alyssa Solomon ahead of their Adamson matchup. But at the same time, it also begs the question: has complacency crept into the Lady Bulldogs’ minds late into Season 87?
Team captain Bella Belen was quick to acknowledge this fact in a short chat with The GAME, even sharing that it’s a toxic trait that has haunted them since high school with the Nazareth School-NU Lady Bullpups.
“Siguro po, kasi parang sakit na talaga namin siya since high school kami. Kasi kami rin po magkakasama, halos yung naglalaro sa first six eh, kami talaga. So parang yun, nabanggit din ng coaches ‘yan na parang naging sakit na nga namin yung simula high school,” said Belen, who will graduate from NU along with Alyssa Solomon, Sheena Toring, and Erin Pangilinan.
“Lalo pag sunod sunod ‘yung panalo and makikita mo po na parang convincing win, since high school talaga napapansin ko po ‘yun na pag may times na susunod kaming nanalo, there are times na pagdating namin ng isang game, medyo mawawalan kami ng energy.”
But as one of their leaders, Belen is making it a point to hold the Lady Bulldogs to the highest standards. That while they are the most talented team on paper, the pursuit of perfection never really comes to a close, and a talent gap isn’t a ticket for an easy victory.
“Tina-try naman namin baguhin ‘yung mindset namin, na dapat every game kung sino man ‘yung kalaban namin, dapat ‘yung standard namin sa paglalaro, or ‘yung goal ng bawa’t isa samin is mataas pa rin. Hindi porke’t ganoon kalakas or hindi mataas na standing eh magiging kampante na kami,” she said.
The Lady Bulldogs were fresh off a 25-8, 25-22, 25-12 sweep over UE at the time of the interview, where they cruised to victory save for a tight second set.
For Belen, it was a solid bounce-back effort as the Lady Bulldogs try to avoid further upset losses late into their title repeat bid.
“So ngayon, nakita ko naman sa game na hindi naman ganoon na nangyari. Talagang binigyan namin ng respeto ‘yung kalaban kasi ganoon naman talaga, kailangan namin respetuhin lahat ng mga kalaban namin para makapaglaro kami ng maayos.”
Staying relaxed
Apart from complacency, Belen also pointed out National U’s tendency to become tense under pressure-packed situations. For instance, the captain circled back to their loss against Adamson, where the Lady Falcons emerged victorious in a tight Set 3 to take a 2-1 advantage against the defending champs.
The Nitura-led crew also repelled NU’s comeback bid in Set 4 of that game, which allowed them to stun the Lady Bulldogs for good.
“Nakita naman namin ‘yun last game, na pag dikitan ‘yung laban, so parang may iba na natatakot nang gumalaw, natatakot na magkamali, ganyan. Hindi naman po maiiwasan ‘yun, kahit din ako eh, inaamin ko na ganun din ako minsan,” Belen admitted.
Given this, Belen knows that NU’s struggles all lie in the mental game, as the talent and skill level have long been established within this current core.
“Kailangan na lang namin baguhin is ‘yung pananaw namin sa pagva-volleyball, sa paglalaro. Kasi minsan nakakalimutan namin na mga bata rin kami na naglalaro lang, nage-enjoy din dapat,” she said.
“Minsan masyado kaming nagiging stiff, masyadong maraming iniisip and parang nagiging komplikado lahat. So ayun, mindset pa rin naman [kasi] sa mindset mag-uumpisa ‘yung galaw ng bawa’t isa.”
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.