NU, the multi-titled UAAP champions, won’t be caught resting on their laurels even as the Bulldogs keep themselves dominant in recent years of collegiate volleyball.
Don’t count on Buds Buddin and the NU Bulldogs to take it easy as they prepare for a historic five-peat bid once UAAP Season 87 rolls around later this month.
That is, even though they are coming into the tournament as four-time defending champions, the Bulldogs are increasingly aware of the kinds of challenges they might face once the ball gets rolling in the men’s volleyball tournament a couple of weeks from now.
Having been challenged mightily en route to their fourth straight title last season, where they were upended to only be the second seed heading into the Final Four, Buddin and the rest of his teammates are keen on not making the same mistakes.
As the gold standard of men’s volleyball, Buddin said they’re painfully aware of how fleeting a dynasty like theirs could be.
“Kasi alam namin lahat ng teams gusto kaming talunin eh. Once na isang [beses] lang magrelax, pwedeng magbago lahat,” Buddin told One Sports during the UAAP Media Day.
“Kasi alam namin na isang point lang, pwede silang manalo samin, dalawang point pwede silang manalo samin kasi ganon yung volleyball eh, game of momentum. So kaya di kami nagrrelax ngayon kasi alam namin lahat ng team is gigil na gigil talunin kami, gigil na gigil pigilan kami makapagfive-peat ngayon.”
Buddin fills in a bigger role, this time around, following the graduation of players Owa Retamar, Nico Almendras, and libero Jann Sumagui. But as he also expects his teammates to step up, Buddin said it will be the most important that they stick to the system.
“Ang goal lang namin is focus parin kung ano yung goal namin, sistema sa ginagawa, sistema sa training,” he said.
Even NU head coach Dante Alinsunurin is wary of the competition, especially as every other team tries to play catch up with the Bulldogs. With teams like FEU, La Salle, and UST all proving to be a challenge in recent years, they’ll need to treat every game as a must-win.
“Sa 'kin, mas mahirap ngayon kasi alam ko na 'yung ibang teams talaga is nag-level up na rin. Hindi lang sa laro, halos 'yung mga dating first and second year, talagang alam kong tumataas na yung kumpyansa ng mga team,” said Alinsunurin.
“Sa 'kin kasi, mas importante 'yung lagi talagang paghandaan, kung sino makalaban, kung sino man 'yung makakaharap namin during [the] game. Talagang magma-mindset kami na every time kukunin namin yung game,” he added.
In UAAP Season 87, Alinsunurin’s Bulldogs will be bannered by holdovers Buddin, Leo Aringo, Obed Mukaba, and Jade Disquitado, among others.