By: Rom Anzures
BJ Villarin, a rising junior from National University Nazareth School, may have gone scoreless in the Final of the Smart-NBTC Nationals against Fil-Nation Select, but she still has a lot to be proud of.
According to the 17-year-old Gilas girls standout, their overall performance was good. And even though they need more practice to improve, she feels satisfied that they gave their best in the historic tournament.
Villarin also shared that going up against a team of Fil-foreigners that featured the Harvard-bound Nina Emnace has taught her a lot.
“It was great, pero the biggest lesson is to play as a team hanggang sa dulo talaga,” the 5-foot-6 Grade 10 guard said.
Despite losing to Fil-Nation in the championship decider, NUNS put up a good fight and went toe-to-toe with their opponents until the final minutes of the game.
For Villarin, the experience in NBTC will help her grow and develop more as she prepares herself for the possible return of the UAAP Girls’ Basketball competition next season. As an individual player, she plans to work harder and put in extra effort to succeed in the UAAP.
“As a player, for UAAP, I will work harder talaga. Yung extra effort is needed.”
She also believes that their success in the UAAP will depend on how well they grow and develop as a team.
“As for our team, ang maibabaon ko is we need to play together we need to be more disciplined.”
With her positive outlook and determination to improve, it is clear that BJ Villarin and the rest of NUNS have a bright future ahead of them.
