Nabor seizes command in NU’s 4th straight win

Beatrice Go

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Nabor seizes command in NU’s 4th straight win

Rappler

Despite having only 10 players in the lineup, the NU Lady Bulldogs exhibit strong character and teamwork

MANILA, Philippines – “Coach! Grabe ang tibay ng team mo! (Your team is so strong),” shouted someone from the audience towards head coach Babes Castillo as the National University Lady Bulldogs were on their way to defeat the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers.

This was a morale booster for Castillo and the team as it ran across the coach’s mind that they only had 10 players. 

The NU Lady Bulldogs clinched their 4th straight win as they bested the UAAP defending champions DLSU Lady Spikers in a 5-set thriller on Sunday, February 18. 

The Lady Bulldogs were down 12-8 in the deciding set until Jaja Santiago reentered the court, giving confidence to the NU squad – especially to setter Jasmine Nabor. Errors plagued the Lady Spikers, sending the match to a dramatic ending of Santiago bringing the 5th set to match point twice with an Aiko Urdas ace to finish it off for the victory. 

NU’s renewed offense during the 4th set proved to be the momentum shifter after DLSU took two prior to the penultimate set. Nabor proved to be the key of the game as she commanded the team by distributing the ball to a variety of NU spikers. The setter made all of the team’s 53 excellent sets. 

“Ang main difference is ‘pag nag-cocommand si Jasmine, sunod din lahat. So sinasabi ko lang is from the way we started, let’s start building a bridge right now,” said Castillo. 

(The main difference is if Jasmine is commanding, everyone follows. I just say that from the way we started, let’s start building a bridge right now.) 

Team captain Santiago was also impressed that her team’s determination to win this game was shown on court. She also felt Nabor’s trust in each of her teammates which allowed everyone to do their part, starting from the first ball to finishing each play with a kill. 

“Sinasabi lang niya (Nabor) na itaas ‘nyo lang receive ‘nyo tapos ako na hahabol,” said Santiago. “Sobrang ganda kasi naco-compose and nabi-build up namin ‘yung ganitong match lalo na ‘pag dinidikdik kami ng kalaban so nakikita natin na tumitibay at nag-iimprove ‘yung character ng bawat isa ‘pag ganyang laban.”

(She just told us to just make our receives better then she would chase after them. It’s really good that we’re composing and building up in these kinds of matches especially when the opponent is pressing on us so we’re seeing that we’re becoming stronger and improving our own character in these kinds of games.) 

Nabor also commended her teammates for focusing on defense and helping her achieve the best of her role as the team’s starting setter. 

“Parang sinasabi lang ng bawat isa, sinasabi ko lang na tibayan ang depensa, iangat lang at adjust-adjust ang mga spiker. Hindi kami papayag na matatalo kami sa game na ‘to,” said Nabor. 

(Everyone kept saying, I kept saying that we should strengthen our defense, raise the ball, and the spikers should adjust. We weren’t going to accept a loss.)

“Laban lang po talaga. Tapos sobrang tibayan lang ang depensa namin kasi ‘yun ang pinaka-importante kanina. Tibay ng puso talaga at teamwork namin,” she added.

(Really keep fighting. Then strengthen our defense because that was the most important. Strengthen the heart and teamwork.)

As the Lady Bulldogs grow more formidable both physically and in character, they look to extend their winning streak in their next match against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigresses next Sunday, February 25, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. – Rappler.com

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Beatrice Go

More commonly known as Bee, Beatrice Go is a multimedia sports reporter for Rappler, who covers Philippine sports governance, national teams, football, and the UAAP. Stay tuned for her news and features on Philippine sports and videos like the Rappler Athlete’s Corner and Rappler Sports Timeout.