NU unbothered with tight schedule

Alta Sports2 months ago · 322 views

Photo: UAAP

By Nate Castillo

Aside from staving off tough opponents going after its neck, defending champion National University is also dealing with a punishing opening week schedule.

The Lady Bulldogs are playing Far Eastern University on Saturday in their third match in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 women’s volleyball tournament in seven days.

NU first year coach Regine Diego saw the tight schedule as an added challenge in the team’s three-peat bid.

Photo: UAAP

“Of course, it’s a matter of good management. This is not just a challenge for me but, of course, it's a challenge for all of the teams in the UAAP,” she said.

The Lady Bulldogs opened their season with a hard-fought, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, win over title-contender University of Santo Tomas last Sunday before sweeping dark horse Adamson University, 25-23, 25-19, 28-26, on Wednesday.

NU has little time to recover as it returns to preparations for a rematch of last year’s Final Four at the Mall of Asia Arena with its unbeaten record and hold of the solo lead at stake.

“So, we just prepare and our mindset is that we cannot do anything about this but manage our stress, manage our recovery because recovery is also equivalent to training,” Diego said.

“Aside from practice, we also have to scout our opponent and just do our best on Saturday,” she added.

The Lady Tamaraws (1-1), Lady Falcons (1-1) and University of the East (0-2) are also playing their third game in one week on Saturday.

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