The STANDS - An Inquirer Sports Newsletter

 

May 17, 2024

The Lady Bulldogs are once again queens of the UAAP. (AUGUST DELA CRUZ)

Hey there sports fan, Before anything else, a question: The NU Lady Bulldogs won their second UAAP volleyball title in three years and how many overall in school history? The answer is at the end of this email. Congratulations are in order for National University, which dominated UAAP Season 86 volleyball with a golden double. The men's and women's teams defeated their rivals from University of Santo Tomas via sweeps. Like men's coach Dante Alinsunurin said, they're out to dominate the UAAP. The amazing Bulldogs won their fourth straight men's crown and proved that they are still the league standard. Not even a UST team that rode into the Finals on the wings of history could stop them. The Lady Bulldogs, meanwhile, proved a tough nut to crack. Led by Finals MVP Alyssa Solomon and two-time league MVP Bella Belen, NU crushed the hopes of a young and undersized—but hard-fighting—UST Tigresses.  Granted, Santo Tomas entered the Finals with a handicap: Top gun and runaway rookie of the year award winner Angge Poyos rolled her ankle in Game 1 and started on one good leg in Game 2. But the depth and spunky character that carried UST to a surprise Finals appearance were enough to forge a 1-1 tie in Game 2, and a lead late in Set 3. Until they weren't. NU's experience and nerves came to the fore and in the end, the Lady Bulldogs reclaimed the title they lost to La Salle last season.

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Ivy Lacsina is at the center of a talked-about swap between sister teams.  (PVL IMAGES)

Meanwhile... …The Inquirer broke a story​ about a trade between sister teams Akari and Nxled recently and it caught a lot of people by surprise. Nobody was more surprised than PVL president Ricky Palou, who thought he made it clear​ that sister teams can no longer engage in swap meets.  The trade, still unofficial, nearly took the spotlight off Creamline's amazing run​ back to the throne of the All-Filipino, after a conference where the country's winningest volleyball club looked highly vulnerabl​e​. In the PBA, San Miguel Beer survived an unexpected challenge​ from Terrafirma and the Philippine Cup's top seed needed to reach for its twice-to-beat card to send the Dyip packing​ and enter the semifinalist, where it will battle surprise entrant Rain or Shine. More on the PBA: I think this story​ is not getting the attention it deserves.  What we're up to next: NBA! PBA! Basketball will switch to higher gear as the Philippine Cup enters its semifinal round, with intriguing matchups headed your way. Aside from the battle between the Beermen and the Elastopainters, we'll also have old rivals Barangay Ginebra and Meralco squaring off in  the other side of the semifinal fence. In the NBA, the playoffs is also kicking into high gear with the conference Finals looming. Stay up-to-date by keeping it here across all our platforms. Number of the Week: 25 Number of athletes the Philippine Olympic Committee hopes it will field in this year's Paris Olympics.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “We don 't have anyone to match up against them, but we will make things difficult for them.” —Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, on his team's semifinal showdown against San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup.

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Four. That's the answer to the trivia question above. Think you can ace the rest of the quiz? head over to our Viber community and try the test out! Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. See you next Friday! Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).