The University of the Philippines enters the second round of the UAAP Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament with its game plan—and its expectations—completely overhauled.
A promising start to the tournament quickly turned turbulent as the Maroons dropped three straight matches to finish with a 3-4 (win-loss) record.
And that’s not even the bad part.
State U also lost star Casiey Dongallo for the rest of the season after the talented hitter suffered ACL and meniscus tears in a loss to Far Eastern University in their first-round meeting.
“Casiey’s a big loss, but the girls understand they need to do more now to compensate,” UP coach Fabio Menta said after Dongallo’s injury. “The girls are okay. They’re working and hopefully we find the right adjustments. We are preparing hard to do our best.”
And that’s not even the bad part.
State U also lost star Casiey Dongallo for the rest of the season after the talented hitter suffered ACL and meniscus tears in a loss to Far Eastern University in their first-round meeting.
“Casiey’s a big loss, but the girls understand they need to do more now to compensate,” UP coach Fabio Menta said after Dongallo’s injury. “The girls are okay. They’re working and hopefully we find the right adjustments. We are preparing hard to do our best.”
Even then, the UP team that will challenge National U at 3 p.m. at Smart Arneta Coliseum is clearly not the same UP squad that stunned the defending champions in the first round.
And the Lady Bulldogs are expected to chomp down hard on that advantage.
La Salle dealt National U a 21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 17-25 defeat last Sunday, creating serious doubts on the Lady Bulldogs’ ability to defend their crown in the post-Bella Belen era.
And NU would want nothing more than to score an emphatic victory that would resurrect its status as a favorite for the crown.
Dongallo has been taking her injury in stride, with Menta saying she has, surprisingly, been “in a great mood” after being ruled out for the season.
“I’m surprised she never felt the desperation,” Menta said. “She came to the next game, she comes to our training, still smiling.”
Defending champion National University, in a short turnaround after falling to De La Salle in last Sunday's Finals rematch, faces a struggling University of the Philippines today to kick off second-round action of UAAP Season 88 women's volleyball at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Lady Bulldogs’ challenge now is responding to a 21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 17-25 loss to the Lady Spikers and seeking revenge against another first-round tormentor, the Fighting Maroons, in the 3 p.m. main game.
Far Eastern University, which saw its three-match winning streak halted by a resurgent University of Santo Tomas, aims to regain its form in the 1 p.m. duel with last-place University of the East.
With a 5-2 record, NU has already matched last season’s total losses in the eliminations. The Lady Bulldogs sit just a game ahead of the Lady Falcons, the Lady Tamaraws, and the Tigresses, all at 4-3, in the race for the No. 2 spot in the Final Four.
After a promising 3-1 start, UP lost its last three matches to drop to sixth place, its woes compounded by a season-ending injury to Casiey Dongallo. The Fighting Maroons will now play catch-up to keep their hopes alive of ending a 10-year Final Four drought.
Rookie Sam Cantada hopes to make an impact this time.
The Dasmariñas, Cavite native suffered a right shin injury after colliding with libero IC Cepada in the third set and never returned during NU’s tough 25-16, 25-16, 22-25, 29-31, 16-18 loss to UP last Feb. 18. Cantada is the Lady Bulldogs’ second-best scorer behind last season’s co-Finals MVP Vange Alinsug.
Niña Ytang will try to lift the Fighting Maroons, joining forces with Jelai Gajero, who is working doubly hard to fill the gaps left by fellow California Academy alum Dongallo.
Despite ending the first round with a loss to UST, FEU remains hopeful for a third consecutive Final Four appearance. The Lady Tamaraws, however, need to play with a sense of urgency against a winless Lady Warriors team eager to achieve a breakthrough.
In the men’s division, unbeaten FEU shoots for an eighth straight victory against UE at 9 a.m., while six-peat-seeking NU looks to break away from a tie with UST in second place as it faces UP at 11 a.m.
