BELLA Belen may no longer be donning National U’s blue-and-gold, but she apparently remains an all-important piece to the puzzle for the Lady Bulldogs.
In fact, the fformer NU star dropped by team practice on Black Saturday, lending a helping hand a day before the Lady Bulldogs’ return to action against Adamson on Easter Sunday - which they ultimately won in straight sets fashion.
READ: With Lamina starting, National U stamps class on Adamson
From occasional practice visits to watching games live and even finding ways to keep tabs when Lady Bulldogs games clash with her PVL schedule with Capital1, the UAAP Season 88 defending champions continue to have Belen firmly in their corner.
“Ang sarap sa feeling kasi na kahit hindi na ako naglalaro for NU, parang tina-try ko pa rin ‘yung best ko na tulungan ‘yung mga players in a way na mase-share ko kung ano ‘yung napapansin ko sa mga kalaban,” she shared with SPIN.ph.
The former rookie-MVP's presence is very much welcome in Jhocson, as it it feels like Season 85 all over again, the one and only year in this golden era when National U failed to defend its crown.
With La Salle setting the pace once more, the three-peat-seeking Lady Bulldogs are back in hot pursuit.
For Belen, the fix is clear: remember their ‘whys.’
“Kailangan lang nilang bumalik sa (tanong na), ‘Sino ba si NU?’ Ano ba ‘yung gusto nilang iwan sa UAAP at paano nila gustong makilala si NU,” she said.
“Kung in doubt, babalik ka lang sa mga ‘whys’ mo. Bakit ka naglalaro? Bakit mo pinili si NU? Bakit ikaw ‘yung nandyan sa loob? Kailangan nilang bumalik sa roots nila na ano bang goal natin this season? Paano natin siya makukuha kahit nakailang talo na tayo?”
Of course, the now-Solar Spikers franchise player speaks true, as this title race is far from over.
As she put it, “Hindi pa naman tapos eh. Wala pa naman nag-champion eh. As long as may remaining games pa, I feel like kaya nilang bumawi.”
Bella backs both
One thing Belen is steering clear of, though, is the noise surrounding the Lady Bulldogs' setter rotation, a hot topic that has dragged her close friend Lams Lamina and former teammate Abe Pono into the center of online debate.
The NU great, who has played with both setters, instead offered reassurance.
“Lams is very mature pagdating sa ganyan. Nakausap ko siya before and sinasabi niya na lagi naman siyang ready na kunyari, papasok siya, ready siya for the team,” she said.
“Sabi ko naman kay Abe na ‘wag mong pansinin ‘yung mga ibang tao, kasi maganda ‘yung pinapakita niya. Hindi biro ‘yung ginagawa niya na dinadala niya ‘yung team. Grabe ‘yung journey nila ngayon na siya pa ‘yung [lead] setter.”
In the end, such decisions, Belen pointed out, ultimately rests on the Regine Diego-led coaching staff which sees more behind closed doors compared to just about everybody else.
“Hindi naman na nila ako laging kasama sa training sa NU, so hindi ko alam kung baka mamaya, may nangyayari sa training na mas effective pala si Abe or baka mamaya, si Lams,” she said.
“It’s more on the coaches’ decision kung sino ‘yung mas effective for that game.”
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