Bulldogs’ future remains gloomy

The future of the National University (NU) men’s volleyball team hangs in limbo as the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) has yet to plot its plans for Season 84.

NU head coach Dante Alinsunurin admitted that they have yet to go full blast in recruitment and training as they are still waiting for the UAAP to announce how it will run the upcoming season.

The volleyball events of Season 84 were supposed to fire off in September, but the league decided to scrap it due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And with President Rodrigo Duterte announcing early this year that face-to-face classes would still be prohibited, it appears that it would take long before the league goes back to normal.

Alinsunurin, also the head coach of the national men’s team, said they are limited to online training while waiting for announcement from the league.

“As of now, we are just staying put while having online training,” Alinsunurin said, admitting that they are having a hard time with forming the team.

“But we are also waiting if UAAP will allow those supposedly graduating players to play for one more year before we do anything with the lineup.”

NU was heavily expected to bag their third straight UAAP title in Season 82 in 2019, but the tournament was scrapped in April after the President declared a nationwide lockdown.

Then, the league cancelled Season 83 altogether, leaving NU and seven other UAAP teams in the dark as to what will happen with their respective athletic programs.

Alinsunurin said they currently have four graduating players in star spiker James Natividad, libero Ricky Marcos, Edward Camposano and Banjo Mondero.