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UAAP men's volleyball: Why can't NU win against Ateneo?

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/04/11/nu-vball-men1-041117.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">The NU Bulldogs lost to the Ateneo Blue Eagles for the 10th straight time last Saturday. <cite>Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – With a chance to deny Ateneo de Manila University a shot at history last Saturday, the National University Bulldogs came up embarrassingly short.NU could have prevented Ateneo from soaring to the Finals of the UAAP Season 79 men&#x27;s volleyball tournament had they beaten the Blue Eagles in their final elimination round match. Instead, in front of a few people at the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday, the Bulldogs barely put up a fight, and Ateneo cruised to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-16 win.That gave the Blue Eagles a 14-0 sweep and an automatic berth to the championship. NU had to settle for the second seed, which will give them a twice-to-beat edge in the stepladder semifinals.Yet even as they prepare for the semifinals, the NU coaches are still pondering their poor performance against the Blue Eagles. They had the same number of errors – 23 – but their usually solid offense sputtered. The Bulldogs converted only 24 of 86 spikes for a 27.9% conversation rate, well below their season average of 44.44%.What makes the loss even more concerning is that it marked the 10th consecutive time that NU lost to Ateneo. They have not won against the Blue Eagles since the Season 76 Finals.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/uaap/news/2017/04/08/blue-eagles-sweep-elims-advance-straight-finals-24375">READ: Blue Eagles sweep elims, advance straight to the Finals</a></li></ul>&quot;Andoon naman kami,&quot; NU coach Dante Alinsunurin said. &quot;Talagang ang problema lang talaga namin is kung gusto ba namin na manalo.&quot;&quot;Ang body language, nakita namin sa court – doon pa lang, umaayaw na ang player ko,&quot; he rued. [We&#x27;re right there, but the question is our will to win. If you look at our body language, you can see that they have already given up.]Given how they performed against the Blue Eagles on Saturday, Alinsunurin admitted that his players clearly suffer from a &quot;mental block&quot; of sorts whenever they face the two-time defending UAAP champions.&quot;Ngayon ko pa lang masasabi, meron,&quot; he said emphatically. &quot;Kasi nakita mo naman ang galaw nila – hindi naman &#x27;yun ang usually na ginagalaw nila.&quot;[Now, I can say that they have a mental block against Ateneo. You can see it in how they move. That&#x27;s not how we usually move inside the court.]<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/04/11/nu-vball-men2-041117.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">NU coach Dante Alinsunurin. <cite>Arvin Lim, ABS-CBN Sports</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div>NU dominated the other UAAP teams in Season 79, including fellow Final 4 squads Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas. Whenever they play against Ateneo, however, the swagger and firepower that they display against other squads seem to evaporate.&quot;Pag &#x27;yun (Ateneo) ang kaharap nila, wala na. Parang talo na kami,&quot; said Alinsunurin. &quot;Hindi namin kaya sila.&quot;&quot;Kahit binibigyan kami ng pagkakataon – naga-unforced errors sila – pero wala pa rin talaga eh,&quot; he pointed out.&quot;Pagdating dito (vs. Ateneo), parang nalilimitahan kami sa kung ano ang pwede naming gawin eh. Parang nakuntento sila na eto na lang ang gagawin namin, kasi talo na kami, hindi ko na gagawin ang pinapagawa ng coaching staff namin, kasi talo na kami,&quot; he added.[Whenever they play against Ateneo, it&#x27;s as if they have accepted the loss even before the game has been played. The Blue Eagles are giving us opportunities, especially with their unforced errors, but we can&#x27;t capitalize. Whenever we play them, it&#x27;s as if we limit ourselves. They get contented, and they don&#x27;t follow our instructions because they have already accepted the loss.]This is doubly frustrating for Alinsunurin because he believes that, man for man, his Bulldogs have the advantage over Ateneo. Even though the Blue Eagles still have reigning three-time MVP Marck Espejo, they also have a bevy of attackers who can match the King Eagle&#x27;s output.&quot;Sa skills medyo lamang naman kami eh. May isang part lang siguro na medyo lamang sila,&quot; he said, referring to Ateneo&#x27;s setter, Ish Polvorosa, who is considerably more experienced than NU&#x27;s playmaker, Kim Dayandante.&quot;Sa individual, lamang din kami; pero sa team, doon kami medyo delikado,&quot; Alinsunurin added.[In terms of skills, we&#x27;re ahead. Maybe they have one player who has the advantage over us, but individually, we should be better. As a team, however, we can&#x27;t put it together.]It may be a question of leadership. NU lost its veteran setter and unquestioned leader when Vince Mangulabnan graduated at the end of Season 78, and no one has yet stepped up to take his place. No matter the reason, Alinsunurin is hopeful that they can find a solution to the &quot;mental block&quot; within the next two weeks. Despite the loss to Ateneo, NU is still favored to advance to the Finals of the men&#x27;s tournament, where they will again come face to face with the Blue Eagles.It is up to his players, Alinsunurin said, to show that they have what it takes to finally snap their losing streak against the Blue Eagles and shatter the aura of invincibility that has surrounded the Ateneo men&#x27;s team.&quot;Sana magawan namin ng paraan, may dalawang linggo pa naman kaming preparation,&quot; he said. &quot;Siyempre bago &#x27;yun, andyan &#x27;yung kalaban namin sa 3 and 4. Siguro bago &#x27;yun, magfo-focus muna kami sa 3 and 4.&quot;&quot;Paunti-unti, siguro kung paano namin talaga mababasag ang pader na &#x27;yun, &#x27;yun lang naman ang talagang kailangan naming gawin,&quot; he added.[We need to do something about it. We still have two weeks to prepare. Before that, we have to focus on who we&#x27;re playing, the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 4 game. But slowly but surely, we have to work on breaking down that wall.](For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website.</a>)

With a chance to deny the Ateneo Blue Eagles a shot at history last Saturday, the National University Bulldogs came up embarrassingly short.

With a chance to deny the Ateneo Blue Eagles a shot at history last Saturday, the National University Bulldogs came up embarrassingly short.

UAAP men's volleyball: Why can't NU win against Ateneo?

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UAAP men's volleyball: Why can't NU win against Ateneo?

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 11, 2017 03:19 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

volleyball

NU Bulldogs

Ateneo Blue Eagles

Dante Alinsunurin

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