AFTER winning a rare four-peat in UAAP men’s volleyball, the National University Bulldogs have high hopes their success will encompass the league itself.
Banking on the phenomenal rise in the popularity of women's volleyball and the steady growth of the men’s game, NU coach Dante Alinsunurin believes it’s as good a time as any to bolster the sports' foundation from the grassroots up.
“Sobrang importante ng representation dahil mas maraming mga bata ang mae-enganyo na magsimula nang maaga,” Alinsunurin told SPIN.ph. “For the longest time, it’s only the women’s [game] that’s shown on TV, written about.
"Now, [the] men’s [game], too, is getting bigger.”
Alinsunurin, who is also the coach of Choco Mucho in the PVL, looked back on the first time the UAAP men’s scene was shown on free-to-air channels back in 2019 as some sort of a watershed moment.
“Gumaganda na talaga, nagsimula na nung 2019, naputol lang dahil sa pandemic, pero ito nagbabalik,” he said. “Sana magtuloy-tuloy yung suporta para tumaas nang tuluyan yung level ng laro.”
Coach Dante bared that even the players themselves are encouraged to raise the level of play given the spotlight that the game now enjoys.
“Pati yung programa sa national team malaking bagay, pag mataas sa national team, tataas din ang programa mula sa baba,” he said.
Given the gains made by Filipino players over the years, the NU coach is confident that the national team can stand its ground against some of the world's top teams 'in one to two years."
'Internationally competitive'
“Yung resulta ng mga laro, ang taas na, I think in two, three years, pwede na talaga maging internationally competitive,” he added.
But to sustain the gains, men's volleyball should build a sound grassroots program that can guarantee a fresh influx of talents.
“Silang mga high-level players, hindi nakapagsimula nang maaga kasi nga walang representation, pero ngayong meron na, mas maraming talents ang pwedeng pumasok sa industriya na mahahasa mo talaga,” he said.
“Yung elementary pa lang may interes na.”
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