Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon excelled when it mattered the most for champion NU in their UAAP Season 87 Final Four win over FEU.
Stars come and go, but time and time again, the NU Lady Bulldogs have been able to rely on Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon year after year in UAAP women’s volleyball.
As the time ticks on Belen and Solomon’s future in Jhocson, they have continued to show up when it mattered most for the defending champions.
When the Lady Bulldogs were up in arms after going down a 0-2 hole against the FEU Lady Tamaraws in their Final Four match on Saturday, Belen and Solomon stepped up to the plate as the going got tough.
[READ: Defending champ NU completes reverse sweep vs FEU, advances to UAAP Season 87 Finals]
Shaking off their struggles in the first two sets, the veteran duo regained their bearings as they willed NU in the five-set thriller, 20-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 17-15, to punch the Lady Bulldogs’ ticket to the finals once again.
This is their fourth straight trip to the championship round.
And the common denominator in those four years? The Lady Bulldogs had Belen and Solomon in their lineup.
Expected to exit the NU program after their run in Season 87, the two teammates are looking to cherish their last few games for the Blue and Gold. And as far as they're concerned, their UAAP careers weren’t about to end with anything less than a championship.
“Siguro isa lang po kami sa nag-remind sa team namin na fifth set na so kailangang itodo na namin,” Belen said after the match. She fired off back-to-back hits in the extended fifth set to propel NU to victory.
“As seniors, kailangan sa amin nanggagaling 'yung fire na nakikita ng teammates ko na ah, ''Di pa pagod 'yung mga ate ko, so dapat ako, 'di pa rin pagod.'”
Belen and Solomon, already in their fourth year in the program, aim to set an example for the younger Lady Bulldogs and hope to leave a championship legacy.
Solomon, who was also pivotal in the deciding fifth set, spoke about how she and Belen will be the standard for all the other Lady Bulldogs, and carrying that weight has turned into emphatic performances for the two friends.
“As a--sinasabi lagi ni Bella--gurang na sa loob ng court, dapat kami 'yung unang nagli-lead and kami 'yung unang kumikilos para 'yung mga bata is sumusunod na lang,” she recounted.
Even if their leadership remains intangible, Belen and Solomon’s impact on the court also is undoubted in the stats sheet.
Belen and Solomon were the two leading scorers for NU in the emphatic victory, finishing with 24 and 21 points, respectively.
MVP frontrunner Belen also bagged another triple-double, pairing her scoring performance with 14 excellent digs and 10 excellent receptions.
Now with over a week to prepare for the championship round, Belen and Solomon hope to come out anew for the Lady Bulldogs. But maybe not on such a neck-and-neck affair.
“Sa Finals, all out na talaga yun eh kung sino yung mas gustong ibigay yung lahat, siya yung mananalo," said Solomon.
The best-of-three finals is slated to begin on Sunday, May 11. As of press time, NU awaits the winner between the Final Four matchup between DLSU and UST for their challenger in the finals.