Meet BaliPure National University

MANILA, Philippines — For the third straight year, the BaliPure Water Defenders will unveil a different squad at the start of the new Premier Volleyball League season, which tips off in the first week of May. And it’s a wholly different look because the Purest Water Defenders just got a whole lot younger.

Partnering with National University, the team will showcase the Lady Bulldogs team for UAAP Season 81 with the core of the UAAP Girls four-time champions with some holdovers from the previous women’s squad.

“This tournament is a major motivation for me and the team,” admitted NU BaliPure head coach Raymond “Babes” Castillo. “We are going to the PVL with an entirely different team in the case of BaliPure, plus, the majority of players coming out of high school. This is essentially, the start of our preparations for UAAP Season 81 where we hone skills and to gain as much experience as we can considering we are very young and are going up against teams, some of who have been together for a while, and they have veteran players with very good imports.”

Speaking of soaking up experience, middle hitter Ivy Lacsina knows all too well the importance of these off-UAAP season tournaments. The tall young lass “came of age” during last year’s Rebisco Volleyball League where she was named “Best Middle Blocker/Hitter” as Nazareth School of NU romped all the way to the championship.

“Doon ako naging komportable sa paglalaro ko at doon ako nakapag-adjust sa style na gusto ni Coach Babes,” said Lacsina.

Libero Jennifer Nierva admits there is a mixture of excitement and anxiety for the tournament. Unlike her other teammates Faith Nisperos, Alyssa Solomon and Lacsina, who all hail from outside Metro Manila, the Quezon City-born Nierva watched and witness as volleyball took off. She saw the games on television and now, she’s going to be on the tube herself playing against her idols one of who is Kath Arado of the University of the East.

“I hope I don’t get star-struck,” quipped Nierva.

Nierva is actually a converted libero. She played open spiker before Castillo switched her position.

“The transition,” described Nierva, “was easy. It helped that I am a very observant person so I study a lot of things.”

And no doubt, Nierva and her teammates will use this PVL tourney as a learning situation. But they’ll have some veteran help in the form of NU Lady Bulldogs Audrey Paran, Roma Doromal, Rose Doria and the returning Rica Diolan.

Paran does admit that it seems a little weird for Doromal and her to be wearing the BaliPure colors. A year ago, they were with Pocari Sweat playing against BaliPure in the for the PVL’s inaugural Reinforced Conference championship. Arrayed against them were some of their NU teammates in Jasmine Nabor, Jorelle Singh, Aiko Urdas and Risa Sato.

“Weird yun para sa amin,” recalled Paran. “Sanay kami magkakampi tapos sila yung nakalaban namin.”

The Purest Water Defenders went on to win the championship, the Pampanga franchise’s first in two tries. Roughly a year later, it is practically now a NU squad but with all new faces along with Paran.

“Disappointing talaga yung nangyari sa amin nung last UAAP season,” admitted Paran. “But kailangan kalimutan kasi panibago to. Kailangan din yung mga learnings i-apply na namin.”

For sure, BaliPure National University, on the strength of its championship pedigree in both the high school and semi-professional level, will have a target on their backs.

Noted opposite hitter Alyssa Solomon, “Hindi magpapadaig yung mga beterano sa mga bata. Sigurado yun. So dapat laban lang at matuto kami.”

Leave it to the team’s Faith Nisperos to sum up their team’s baptism of fire, “Hindi ko iniisip yung pressure and expectations. Given na yun. We’ll just work to match or even exceed the expectations. We have to embrace the pressure. If we don’t do good, then we think of the big picture. But we have to learn and learn fast.”