The National University Lady Bulldogs had to endure a tough roller-coaster ride on their way to the Final Four of UAAP Season 80.
They rose to the top of the league standings at the end of the first round, taking down six of their first seven foes. They looked poised to clinch a semifinal ticket ahead of the other teams, but then they found themselves terribly skidding the rest of the way. They only added one more win to their record, putting them in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
Fortunately for them, even after falling apart in the second round, they still landed in fourth place.
"A coach is always prepared for the worst. Before the UAAP started, with the status of our team, I saw that we might fall short in the second round, and that's what happened," NU head coach Babes Castillo said. "I would see it this way. I would see it that they worked hard in the first round. That was impactful. It helped to get us up to the top four."
The Lady Bulldogs did just enough to stay in contention, but a bigger challenge awaits as they clash with the twice-to-beat De La Salle Lady Spikers in the Final Four.
While it's a pretty daunting task to move past the reigning champions, Castillo remains optimistic about his team's chances.
"You always compete with the best, that's where you'll see what you have. That's why in that regard, I like that," the mentor said about their matchup with La Salle.
"Our systems will get tested here," Castillo went on. "You have to realize that me with the team, [we've only been] spending a year together. I anticipated that, I saw that these systems will be the first thing you have to set. We had difficulty in that."
Unlike NU, the Lady Spikers became unstoppable as the season progressed. The top-seeded La Salle rolled through their opponents and maintained a spotless slate in Round 2.
"La Salle became more consistent. You can see that, especially in their serve and passing. Everybody in the La Salle team can pass. There were things that you saw buildup from the first day until the very end. We should also have that," acknowledged Castillo.
The Lady Bulldogs are determined to put their elimination round misfortunes behind. They have the opportunity to bounce back, and that's what they hope to accomplish to when they march to their do-or-die game on Sunday.
"I told them, we had to go through it so that achieving the goal will have more value. It doesn't happen immediately," said Castillo.