FOR TWO consecutive seasons now, the National University (NU)
Bulldogs have dashed the title hopes of UST’s Mark Gil Alfafara and Kris Roy
Guzman in the UAAP beach volleyball tournament.
As the tourney closed, Alfafara and Guzman once again found
themselves settling for second best as they watched the duo of Edwin Tolentino
and Josephenry Pipay complete a historic third consecutive title.
The Tiger Spikers had a clean 6-0 slate until they ran into NU and
lost their only game in the elimination round. The loss dashed their hopes of a
thrice-to-beat advantage in the championship round.
Tiger Spikers head coach Emil Lontoc was convinced that the
Bulldogs were not the reason why Alfafara and Guzman failed to dominate the
tournament.
“’Yung laban nila, naging
labanan ng maturity. Nanalo tayo ng first set tapos sa second set nag-relax ‘yung ating players. Kapag ganoon na nag-relax ka, bibigay ka kapag naghahabol na [ang kalaban],” Lontoc said.
Lontoc pointed to diminishing self-confidence as their weakness
whenever NU displays unwavering defense especially to the sophomore Guzman.
“Kapag nadedepensahan
sila, bumabagsak ang kumpiyansa nila, ‘yung self-confidence, pati lebel ng laro. Mapapansin mo
‘yun lalo na kay KR [Guzman] kasi bata pa naman ‘yan, second year pa lang niya sa UAAP,” Lontoc said.
Veteran spiker and former Most Valuable Player Mark Alfafara
agreed with Lontoc, adding that their decision-making on the court could be
another factor why they placed second again this season.
“Nagkatalo lang siguro
kami sa desisyon namin sa sarili. Oo, aminin natin may times na nagkakaroon ng doubts sa mga ginagawa.
Nagkakatalo lang talaga sa puso namin, nagkakaroon lang talaga ng doubt sa
sarili kung kaya ba o hindi,” Alfafara said.
Guzman admitted that his emotions got the better of him and he
lost focus because he was too eager to get back at NU for their loss last year.
“Ang mali ko lang, parang
sobrang gigil ko makabawi sa nangyari last
year. Sobrang sakit kasi
gustung-gusto ko makuha ‘yung championship para sa UST pero hindi ko
nagawa,” Guzman said.
Alfafara and Guzman will team up once again in the second semester
in hopes of reviving a struggling indoor volleyball program. Angelica P. Abello
