It’s not just powerful spikes and impeccable floor defense that the NU Lady Bulldogs can expect from two-time UAAP MVP Bella Belen.
The grind doesn’t stop for two-time UAAP MVP Bella Belen as she hopes to lead the NU Lady Bulldogs to their third title in the last four seasons.
More than contributing with her powerful spikes and her impeccable floor defense, Belen has also been employing another facet of her arsenal where she’s flourished in recent games: the service line.
In a gutsy five-set win over the FEU Lady Tamaraws on Sunday night, Belen fired off a whopping seven aces — just one shy of tying the UAAP record of eight aces in a game, a record she shares with Dzi Gervacio.
Despite being checked at the net by FEU’s blockers, Belen was able to contribute much to her team with her heavy-handed serves, some of which turned the tables on the Lady Tamaraws, who achieved a 2-1 set lead over the defending champions.
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After the game, the happy-go-lucky spiker attributed her service prowess to what she’s been working on in training.
“Siguro po kasi nagsa-start siya sa training namin. Sa training kasi, never nawala yung service. Nagfo-float nga lang po ako sa training,” she quipped.
“Siguro kasi lagi lang namin sinasabi na kahit sino po magse-service na ipasok lang yung bola sa kung anong paraan namin kayang ipasok.”
Service errors can prove costly in a tightly contested volleyball game, where an errant serve could possibly change the tides of the outcome. But at the same time, it can also lead to your own point with a loaded ace.
But as far as Belen is concerned, she isn’t too keen on taking the easy route and scoring on her serve.
Rather, she just hopes to put her team in the best position to succeed, even when she’s doing so from the comfort of the service line.
“Di naman po kami kukuha ng point sa service kasi the more na eager kaming kumuha ng point, the more kaming mage-error. Yun yung nakita namin sa team namin kanina,” said Belen.
“Ako naman po lalo na pag dikit, hangga't kaya ko na ipasok lang nang alam kong mahihirapan yung kabilang team, yun yung gagawin ko. Kung ano makakapadali sa trabaho ng team namin,” she added.
Belen and the Lady Bulldogs’ next test come in the form of the listless UE Lady Warriors whom they face on Saturday, March 1, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Despite their disparity in records, the two-time MVP is wary of their foes.
“Kada game naman po, tini-treat namin siya equally,” said Belen.
“Ngayon UE, magpe-prepare na po kami next game. Papanoorin namin sila. Babalik lang kami sa drawing board. Sa training, pupuliduhin pa namin yung mga galaw namin na nakita naming dahilan bakit ganito yung kinalabasan ng game ngayon. Aayusin namin at hopefully di na siya maulit ulit sa mga next games,” she added.