NU Bulldogs’ Michaelo Buddin. -UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—National University was assured of a berth in the UAAP Season 85 men’s volleyball tournament on Saturday and the Bulldogs have one thing in mind to work on right away; their discipline.
After NU’s four-setter win against Ateneo, 25-11, 28-26, 16-25, 25-23, Michaelo Buddin was quick to acknowledge the team’s need for discipline as they await whoever their rival would be in the final stage.
“We really just need to work on our own disciplines heading into the finals. Of course, we’ll have a long rest, we can’t relax,” said Buddin at San Juan Arena.
The rookie top-scored NU with 19 points to hike the Bulldogs’ win streak at 32.
While coach Dante Alinsunurin doesn’t see the upcoming lull as disadvantageous, his message for the squad resonated with Buddin’s, centering on self-discipline.
“We’ll just have one week to stop [and rest]. It’ll be quite an advantage for us because we can rest. With our situation of having back-to-back games, it’s to our advantage that we’ll get to rest and plan for whoever we’ll be facing in the Finals,” the top tactician said.
NU Bulldogs’ coach Dante Alinsunurin. -UAAP PHOTO
The two other supporting casts for the Bulldogs’ final elimination round game also took note of the team’s need for focus as they reach their eighth straight Finals appearance.
“In our training, I know that coach knows what he needs to do with the team. We’ll rest for a bit and the only things we’ll think about are ourselves and how we’ll get conditioned,” said Joshua Retamar after gaining four markers and 22 excellent sets in the win.
“We need to focus more on practice now, especially since we’ll have some rest. We can’t relax and we can’t let ourselves go,” told Nico Almendras who registered 12 to his name in Saturday’s victory.
As it stands, University of Santo Tomas (10-3) will have the luxury of waiting in the wings for the winner of the third versus fourth seed matchup in a stepladder format.
The third and fourth seeds are still in a toss up between the Blue Eagles (7-7), La Salle (7-6) and Far Eastern University (7-6).