The painful lessons of last year will fuel Ateneo de Manila University’s drive to end a seven-year Final Four drought in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s volleyball tournament.

Head coach Vince Mangulabnan told DAILY TRIBUNE his boys are now well-versed in their methods compared to last year and know what needs to be done as they start their campaign against University of the Philippines on 22 February.

“I think it’s more on our system. Last year, we did a system adaptation and this year, we enhanced our system,” said Mangulabnan, a two-time UAAP Best Setter awardee during his time with National University.

“We now know what we want to do as a team and what our game plans will be through this season.”

Ateneo finished Season 87 in fifth place with a 7-7 win-loss record.

Led by reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kennedy Batas and rookies Preece Atendido and Paolo Medino, the Blue Eagles aim to make it back to the Final Four. 

The last time Ateneo made it to the semifinals was in 2019 when the likes of Chumason Njigha, Manuel Sumanguid III and Lawrence Gil Magadia were still around.

Mangulabnan wants the squad to take it game by game.

“What we want to achieve in the first round is to win every game. If we get those, we’ll reset that way, our adrenaline would be like if it’s the first day,” Mangulabnan said.

“I’m confident that they’re ready for this season. My MVP said that we focused more on our mental practices and that they’re more bonded now.”