NATIONAL U paraded an intact player core over the last four years where it won three UAAP women’s volleyball championships.
For a team bent on building a tight-knit chemistry with its young guns, there’s one thing that has almost always changed with the Lady Bulldogs — their head coach.
READ: Coach Sherwin pays no mind to doubters after title run with NU
NU had three different coaches lead the school to title wins in the three seasons it won the UAAP crown since 2022.
Karl Dimaculangan held the reins for National U when it completed a 16-game tournament sweep to end a 65-year title drought in Season 84.
He’d stay in charge for NU’s title defense that fell flat in the end to a vengeful La Salle side in Season 85.
Then came a game of musical chairs which saw one coaching change after the other in the two seasons that followed.
Dimaculangan took the back seat come Season 86 as Norman Miguel returned for a second head coaching stint with the Lady Bulldogs.
After reclaiming the crown that year, Miguel’s NU comeback ended up being a one-and-done run as he’d take his act to the pros as head coach of former PVL champion Chery Tiggo.
In the lead-up to UAAP Season 87, Dimaculangan briefly returned at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs on an interim capacity before an unlikely successor was named in Creamline’s seven-time PVL champion head coach Sherwin Meneses.
Juggling double duties as lead shot-caller for two of Philippine volleyball’s most formidable college and pro powerhouse teams is no easy task, not even for Meneses who’s won 100-plus matches in the PVL.
But the winning system and culture he honed for the Cool Smashers was one that translated to a UAAP title win for the Lady Bulldogs.
Familiarity breeds success
For three-time UAAP MVP and National U captain Bella Belen, it was a matter of embracing their ever-evolving identities on the court under three different leaders — one that could’ve easily been a disadvantage despite the abundance of talent in their team.
“Every season, mas nagiging pulido ‘yung galaw namin sa team kasi yung mga sistema naman ng mga napagdaanan naming coaches, ‘di naman nalalayo," she said.
“Each coach, napulido kami and mas napaganda ‘yung galaw namin, lalo ngayon kay coach Sherwin [Meneses]. Nakita ko talaga kung paano kami natulungan ng sistema niya kasi yung sistema,importante siya sa volleyball," she added.
“’Yun ‘yung hawak namin kung paano kami gagalaw sa loob ng court.”
What ultimately saw them uphold a winning culture even as coaches have come and went in Jhocson was the one thing that made the Lady Bulldogs a brewing dynasty to begin with: chemistry.
And as we’ve witnessed over the last four years, familiarity bred success for National U.
“Kahit iba-iba ‘yung coaches namin sa tatlong championships namin, talagang ‘yung chemistry po ng team, ‘di nawala.
“Magkakakilala kami kaya kahit sinumang coach humawak samin, alam kong kaya naming lumaban. At the same time, kaya naming i-adapt yung magiging sistema ng nagiging coach.”
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