The Lady Bulldogs tactician fell short of revealing their gameplan as they checked Adamson rising rookie Shaina Nitura in their first round encounter.
The NU Lady Bulldogs were mostly successful in neutralizing Adamson dynamo Shaina Nitura when they held her to a season-low scoring output during their first round encounter where the Lady Bulldogs emerged victorious in three sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18.
No other team has been able to control the first-year player as much as the defending champions, forcing her into a season-low 13 points as the Lady Falcons skidded to their third straight loss for the season.
[READ:
NU blows past Adamson to remain undefeated in first elimination round]
After the match, NU head coach Sherwin Meneses spoke about how they managed to contain Nitura.
"Mahirap sagutin 'yan ah. Mabibisto tayo ah. Hindi. Siguro medyo, 'yung area niya lang talagang talagang nabantayan namin.” quipped Meneses.
“Actually, lahat naman talaga binabantayan namin sa Adamson depende lang kung saan 'yung area na babantayan at tsaka 'yung situation kung saan area papalo 'yung kalaban namin. Siguro maganda lang 'yung pag-stop namin sa net so naging maganda 'yung resulta para sa amin." he added.
Apart from limiting her points, Nitura’s efficiency also took a hit as she was a meager 9-of-49 in attacks.
Foreign student athlete Frances Mordi backstopped Nitura with 13 points of her own. She was only slightly better on coverage with a 12-of-41 clip.
Among the leaders in net coverage were Alyssa Solomon and Alexa Mata with four and three blocks, respectively.
Solomon was named Player of the Game with an efficient 22 points in three sets.
With the masterclass on defense against Nitura, the Lady Bulldogs moves one win away from a first round sweep with a 6-0 slate.
Meanwhile, Adamson drops to a 4-2 record.