The MVP duo of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon take the strong start for the NU Lady Bulldogs as a sign of things to come in UAAP Season 87.
Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon were happy that the NU Lady Bulldogs got off on the right foot as they began their title defense in UAAP Season 87 with a convincing 3-set win over the DLSU Lady Spikers, 25-23, 25-21, 25-18, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday.
That is, after losing their opening game via sweep against the UST Golden Tigresses last season, it was a good change of pace when it was their turn to hand their new-age rivals a thorough beatdown.
[RELATED: Bella Belen, champion NU Lady Bulldogs assert status with sweep of UAAP rival La Salle]
Though acknowledging that there is still much to work on for the team, especially since they are the defending champions and are under a new head coach in Sherwin Meneses, Belen and Solomon were more than thrilled to get the big win under their belt.
“Syempre, I’m very happy kasi nga nanalo kami compared nung last season talo po yung unang game namin,” said Belen.
“Pero I think kahit napanalo namin this game marami pa rin kaming lapses kasi may mga times, or tendencies na nags-stop kami, eh yung La Salle, di sila yung basta-basta sumusuko so dapat kami, hangga’t di pa tapos yung game, siguro kailangan pa namin i-improve pa yung galaw namin and yun nga, mahaba pa yung season and first game pa lang."
"Marami pa kaming kailangan i-improve and yun, kailangan muna namin aralin pa yung sistema,” she added.
Solomon, for her part, also underscored the importance of opening games, since it gives them something good to go on for the rest of the year.
“Syempre very important yung first game since yun nga, opening and dito mo makikita kung paano namin ipapakita yung pinag-training namin, kung paano namin pinaghandaan talaga tong season na to. Kung ano yung mga improvements pa,” she said.
It was an absolute masterclass for the Lady Bulldogs against La Salle. Belen and Solomon chipped in 14 and 13 markers, respectively, as they clicked on all cylinders.
Their defense also worked wonders as they limited La Salle, especially Angel Canino, who ended up with just seven points. Shevana Laput was the highest scorer in the game with 18 markers.
Lams Lamina ended up with Player of the Game honors as she distributed the rock with 20 excellent sets for the Lady Bulldogs.