CREAMLINE head coach Sherwin Meneses knows exactly what Bella Belen is capable of.
After all, he was the one who maximized her potential during National U’s UAAP Season 87 title run last year, where the Lady Bulldogs secured back-to-back championships and Belen capped her storied career in blue-and-gold with another MVP award and a rare jersey retirement honor.
READ: Bella Belen's only beginning to expand her game with Capital1
But as the two sides prepare to face each other in the PVL, Meneses now finds himself in unfamiliar territory: plotting ways for the Cool Smashers to stop the very player he once guided to success.
Belen has been in dominant form in the ongoing All-Filipino Conference, scoring at least 20 points in each of her first four games.
She even matched her career-best output with 29 points in Capital1’s five-set win over Choco Mucho.
The 23-year-old winger currently leads the league in scoring with an average of 26.5 points per game and a total of 106 markers, numbers that underscore the challenge awaiting Creamline.
And so, stopping - or even just slowing down - Belen will be priority No. 1 for Meneses, as he and his side seek to prevent her from dictating the tempo of the match.
“Knowing Bella, talagang very competitive ‘yan,” said Meneses.
“Hindi namin hahayaan na ma-control ni Bella ‘yung laro. Babalik muna kami sa ensayo then tignan namin kung saan kami makakakuha ng advantage sa Capital1. Magandang laban ‘yun at excited kaming makaharap si Bella.”
Strength in numbers
Belen’s scoring brilliance has fueled the Solar Spikers’ rise in her first two professional conferences, but for Alas Pilipinas captain Jia de Guzman, the upcoming clash presents an opportunity for the Cool Smashers to lean on their greatest advantage: depth.
The longtime powerhouse boasts of one of the deepest rosters in the league, a strength that has anchored their 10 championships and consistently allowed them to neutralize one-player-driven offenses.
Come Saturday, they're out to extract the maximum from a complete Creamline cast.
“Marami rin kaming tao sa bench, and napakita naman namin ‘yun that we have a bench that is ready to deliver,” said de Guzman.
“Kailangan lang mabuo namin ulit, makapag-prepare kami nang maayos for Capital1 and hope na it goes our way.”
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