Tipped as favorites, Lady Bulldogs insist they remain hungry

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MANILA, Philippines -- All eyes are still on the mighty National University Lady Bulldogs after the Final Four cast in the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball became clear days before an expected slugfest this weekend at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Gunning for a repeat, the top-seeded NU as early as last week has drawn No. 4 Far Eastern University while La Salle secured the No. 2 seed and the other win-once bonus against the third-ranked University of Santo Tomas after their thrilling playoff Wednesday night.

It’s the same cast as last year only with a tweak in rankings of La Salle and Santo Tomas as NU still remains the undisputed team to slay, the gauge and the biggest hurdle among the three teams in the Philippine collegiate’s Mt. Rushmore.

But that doesn’t mean the Lady Bulldogs, unbothered on top, would rest on their laurels.

“Hindi kami nasa-satisfy kung anong naging performance namin,” said two-time Most Valuable Player Bella Belen as NU topped the two-round eliminations with a 12-2 slate.

NU, armed with a twice-to-beat incentive, bowed to FEU in Game 1 but still took care of business in the next game that snowballed to a sweep over UST in the finale.

That’s the second title for the Lady Bulldogs in the last three seasons – and now they have their sights on the third. Belen, too, seeks a third MVP title to further solidify her UAAP legend.

Even if that means going through the FEU juggernaut again before another all-out battle against either La Salle or UST from the other pairing.

Interestingly, NU swept all of those squads this season with its two losses coming against UP and Adamson.

“Mas gutom kami ngayon. Kailangan kada game, nagi-improve kami, kahit kaunti. Kung kaya pa naman na may maipakitang bago at mas itaas pa ‘yung laro namin,” Belen vowed.