Philippine volleyball star Bella Belen during the Collegiate Press Corps Awards.–CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Blessings continue to pour in for three-time UAAP MVP Bella Belen after ending her storied collegiate career.
After graduating as a three-time UAAP champion for National University, Belen emerged as the top overall pick Capital1 in this year’s PVL Rookie Draft and helped Alas Pilipinas to a historic silver medal in the AVC Nations Cup.
READ: PVL: Expectations rise for Capital1 with ‘franchise maker’ Bella Belen
The do-it-all outside spiker, who turned 23 on Sunday — the same birthday as her fellow three-time UAAP MVP Alyssa Valdez, also bagged her third Collegiate Press Corps Awards’ UAAP Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.
“It’s really overwhelming, and I’m so thankful to God because I wouldn’t have achieved any of this without Him. I’m just so happy, and I honestly can’t even describe how it feels to experience these blessings,” Belen told the reporters in Filipino on Monday at Discovery Suites.
Belen sent Alas to the Nations Cup final for the first time after her attack, which was initially called outside, was challenged by her coach Jorge Souza De Brito and deemed successful after the ball hit the tip of the finger of her blocker.
“It was so unexpected. I remember it was a really long rally, and Ate Jia [De Guzman] kept setting the ball to me—thank you to her for the trust. Taipei’s defense was so good, so we tried all kinds of attacks, but the ball just wouldn’t drop. When Jia set me the ball, I just thought, ‘I’ll hit it.’ I think the score was 14-12 then, so in my mind, even if I get blocked or make an error, we’ll still have another chance at 14-13,” she said.
“When the ball went out, I didn’t even know it was a check ball until I saw the replays later. Ate Fifi [Sharma] was the one who really saw it and signaled to coach. They said we still had two challenges left, so since it was end game, we might as well use one. We were all surprised when we saw in the challenge that the ball really touched the blocker’s hand. The whole team was super happy, but we know there’s still so much we need to improve.”
READ: UAAP: Bella Belen caps storied NU run with MVP hat trick, title repeat
Belen relished the opportunity to be part of the national team for the second straight year.
“I’m very happy with what our team achieved at the AVC. We really worked hard for it. Last year, the national team won bronze, so we asked ourselves, ‘What’s next? What else can we give to the country?’ This time, it was about going for silver or gold. We were really happy we reached silver—it feels like we’ve come so far, but there’s still a long way to go,” said the NU lifer from high school to college.
As she opens her new chapter with Capital1, Belen can’t wait to rejoin her first pro team, once the national team calendar is over.
“I’m super excited. It feels like the excitement I had back in Season 84 when I was a rookie at NU—it’s like I’m a rookie again, but this time in the pros. I’ll try to share everything I’ve learned as a player and as a captain with Capital1. Players now all have different mindsets, so I’ll really do my best to contribute in any way I can to the team,” Belen said.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.