National University prevented a situation last Wednesday against University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Season 86 Women’s Basketball Tournament, which had last occurred for the school back in Season 75 — losing back-to-back games.
The Lady Bulldogs, who clinched seven straight UAAP championships along with a 108-game winning streak from Seasons 77 to 85, last lost two games in a row in 2012: a 75-64 loss to De La Salle University on September 16 and a 58-50 defeat to Far Eastern University on September 23.
NU eventually defeated UST 76-64, but it was a hard-fought game for the Lady Bulldogs, who were forced to dig deep.
It was also the best response the team could give after losing to the University of the Philippines 72-69 last Sunday.
“Sobrang ganda sa feeling na nag-bounce back kami ngayon,” said Ann Pingol, who led NU with 13 points.
“Kung anuman yung nangyari (sa nakaraan), siguro may rason yun, which is magkaisa kami. Sobrang aga pa ng season. Kailangan pa namin magtrabaho bilang isang team.”
The Lady Bulldogs were only up 39-36 at halftime. They then unleashed a third-quarter surge to get away from the Growling Tigresses. Karl Pingol, Gyspy Canuto, Camille Clarin, Tin Cayabyab, and Angel Surada scored baskets to earn a 59-45 cushion with a minute left in the period.
NU demonstrated that its players had the heart to bounce back after such a tough loss to the Fighting Maroons. This may not be the Lady Bulldogs of the past who essentially won the game even before it tipped off. However, they demonstrated that they had the heart to defend their school’s pride even if the struggles were greater this time around.
“It’s a good comeback,” said Surada, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds against the Growling Tigresses. “Yun nga sabi ni coach Aris (Dimaunahan), nung first super gigil talaga kami. Parang gusto agad namin makalamang, so nung nag-timeout si coach, sabi niya ‘settle down, masyado tayong gigil’. We played together and shared that basketball.
“Masarap sa feeling. Hindi porket nanalo ka ng isang beses, wala na, tapos na. We still have the same goal, which is yung championship.”
Next up for NU is a date against De La Salle University this Sunday. It will be a rematch of last season’s finals. While the Lady Archers are in rebuilding mode, the Lady Bulldogs know that they cannot head to the game overconfident as the former snapped their incredible streak in the second round of Season 85.
It is about building on this win over UST against La Salle to build some much-needed momentum heading into the final games in the first round and the whole of the second round.
“Just like any other team, it does not matter who we play against,” said Dimaunahan. “We are always doing our best to come up with a game plan that would probably suit us.
“It does not matter kung sino kalaban namin. Kami magpe-prepare kami talaga and we’ll do our best to lay everything down on the court pag naglaro na ulit kami.”
