National University head coach Dante Alinsunurin is not worried about losing steam while waiting for their finals opponent in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 85 men’s volleyball tournament.
The three-peat-seeking squad will have more than a week of rest and preparation for its best-of-three championship opponent, who will be determined through the knockout stepladder semifinals.
NU clinched an outright finals berth after completing a rare 14-game elimination round sweep in the first staging of the men’s division after a three-year pandemic-forced hiatus.
“I’m not really worried about that because we’ll just be out of action for just a week. I think it would be an advantage for us as we will have enough time to rest,” Alinsunurin said as his squad braces for battle in its eighth straight finals appearance.
Game 1 is set Wednesday next week.
The Bulldogs capped their flawless eliminations run with a 25-11, 28-26,
16-25, 25-23 win over also-ran Ateneo de Manila University last Saturday for their 32nd straight win overall since 2019.
The then Marck Espejo-led Blue Eagles are the last team to complete a perfect title run, sweeping Season 79 back in 2017.
“It will be good for our recovery after three consecutive games to end the elimination round,” Alinsunurin said.
“Aside from rest, it would also give us time to plan and prepare against whoever it is that we would face in the semis.”
However, the long wait begins for NU as three other teams slug it out in back-to-back sudden deaths.
Facing off in the first stage of the semis are De La Salle University and 2019 runner-up Far Eastern University on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The survivor of the match will then take on No. 2 seed University of Santo Tomas on Saturday at the same venue.
Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they won’t need to wait longer as the final stage of the semis will also be a knockout game after the league removed the rule of No. 2 teams holding a twice-to-beat advantage in a stepladder scenario this season.
“We’ll wait and prepare against whichever team will come out of the semis,” Alinsunurin said.
“Although, of course, they’d say that we might get rusty and all that but we trust our volleyball program which will keep our players from getting complacent. What is important is for us to use our time to plot a good game plan for the finals,” he added confidently.
NU will pin its hopes on grabbing its fifth title overall in veteran setter Owa Retamar, Nico Almendras, Ken Malinis, Congolese recruit Obed Mukaba and rookie Buds Buddin.