UAAP champion National University and PVL champion Creamline have a few things in common. Foremost of which, and the most obvious, is that they now have the same coach in Sherwin Meneses.
READ: NU Lady Bulldogs complete sweep of La Salle for SSL three-peat
Meneses took over the helm of NU two months ago and during that brief period, he has guided the Lady Bulldogs to the Shakey’s Super League (SSL) Pre-season Championship for the third time.
A few months back, Meneses had made history by scoring the first-ever PVL Grand Slam.
These recent successes have made people wonder and ask: is NU the Creamline of the college leagues?
Same, same but different
Newly-crowned SSL MVP Bella Belen has noted the nearly seamless synergy her squad built with Meneses in such short a time.
She said some of the Cool Smashers’ on-court behavior in the PVL have rubbed off on the Lady Bulldogs, such that there practically were only a few drastic changes in style and execution.
“Maganda kasi sobrang ganda ng composition ng team at kahit na bago pa lang si coach Sherwin, hindi na ganun kabago ‘yung sistema niya sa amin, medyo lang,” Belen said.
“Medyo same-same naman du’n sa Creamline and sa’min, ‘yung mga low, fast sets, ‘yung mga plays. Nagdadagdag lang si coach Sherwin kung ano sa tingin niyang pwede pa niyang maidagdag sa team at paunti-unti namin siyang ina-apply sa games.”
While she admitted how they haven’t picked up Meneses’ system totally, the coach's attitude and work ethic have dramatically influenced their relationship, resulting in growth and success.
“Katulad kahapon, may game siya sa Creamline. Bumiyahe pa siya [mula Ilocos Sur] para maka-attend sa game namin ngayon," she said, amplifying Meneses' all-out effort to be with his players, illustrating how much he values his duty as coach.
“Naglalaro lang kami sa loob ng court pero ‘yung coaches talaga ‘yung tumutulong sa’min.”
High-level competition across the board
Coming straight from the horse’s mouth, NU isn’t Creamline.
But Meneses is the first one to disagree that the two teams are one and the same.
But he noted that they might be in one respect.
“Siguro ‘yung attitude ng players kasi talagang napaka-competitive ng NU and Creamline. ‘Yun naman talaga ‘yung number one sa team, mapa-bench player o star player. ‘Yun ‘yung nakita kong maganda sa team, talagang teamwork din ‘pag gumalaw.”
As Meneses puts it, “Hindi naman [sila pareho]. Siguro, talagang iisa ‘yung coach at iisa ‘yung sistema pero magkaiba naman ‘yung iba."
But he also emphasized that what sets them apart from other teams are the friendship and the respect players and coaches have for each other.
"Magaganda ‘yung samahan. Nagtutulungan ‘yung players at coaches. ‘Yun ‘yung pinaka-importante.”
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