Vange Alinsug aims to give her seniors a fitting ending to their already successful UAAP careers as the Lady Bulldogs chase back-to-back titles in Season 87.
The NU Lady Bulldogs have never been a two-man show despite the dominant careers by Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon in their four-year stay at the Jhocson-based school, which already turned into two UAAP championships.
Rather, the team has always been behind them in playing supporting roles, especially when opponents’ defenses focus on the high-scoring duo.
Such was the case on Sunday when the Lady Bulldogs were tested mightily by the FEU Lady Tamaraws, dragged into a five-set affair in their first round meeting at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-8.
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Over the course of the last two seasons, the best of the rest with the NU Lady Bulldogs has consistently been third-year hitter Vange Alinsug.
Though falling behind the shadow of Belen and Solomon, she has consistently been the third woman in NU’s scoring rotation.
Against the Lady Tamaraws, Alinsug scored 19 points to backstop Belen and Solomon’s 21 and 23 points, respectively.
After both Belen and Solomon announced that they would be heading out of the NU program after this season, Alinsug believed that she needed to step up her game — to hopefully make their stay worth it for one more year.
“Actually, super motivated [ako] kasi nag-stay talaga sila para sa amin. Kasi pwede namang umalis na sila since graduating na talaga sila,” Alinsug told reporters on the sidelines after their win over FEU.
“So, ibigay namin ito hindi lang para sa NU o sa team namin pero para din sa kanila na maganda yung alis nila sa amin,” she added.
It’s easy to fall behind in the background when you have teammates like Belen and Solomon — both of whom have exhibited MVP-calibre play, with Belen also a two-time MVP in Seasons 84 and 86.
But Alinsug has been working hard to find her role in Sherwin Meneses’ system despite the glaring contributions of her bemedalled teammates. Having the intrinsic motivation to win on her own, Alinsug hasn’t missed out on sharpening her own skills.
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“Hindi naman po siya gano'n kadali [hanapin yung role ko] pero kasi andun yung drive ko kasi gusto kong tumulong sa kanila and gusto rin namin talagang manalo. So, kaya hindi siya mahirap kapag gusto mo talagang manalo,” she said.
But of course, Alinsug doesn’t just want to pick up the slack on physical skills once Belen and Solomon move on from the Lady Bulldogs.
She also wants to prove herself as a worthy leader for the championship contending team.
Still spending the rest of the season with the veteran duo, Alinsug hopes to be like a sponge and absorb everything that Belen and Solomon will give them as leaders — especially when it comes to their fierceness on the court.
“Yung pagiging palaban [yung gusto ko makuha]. Yung pagiging palaban nilang dalawa na hindi talaga sila susuko kasi gusto namin kunin yung set kagaya kanina noong 4th na pwede na kaming matalo nun e pero nakita ko sa kanila na gusto talaga nila makuha kasi madami kami pinaghirapan these past few weeks sa training so kukunin namin to,” said Alinsug.
“Nakita ko sa kanila yung drive nila na hindi rin talaga magpapatalo,” she continued.
The next test for Alinsug and the NU Lady Bulldogs come in the form of the UE Lady Warriors, who pose a dangerous threat as they enter the game hungry for a win. They play on Saturday, March 1, at the Mall of Asia Arena.