As National University head coach Norman Miguel was quick to point out, the Lady Bulldogs had all the reasons to give up on their UAAP Season 81 campaign.
Miguel was NU’s fourth head coach in five seasons. Their already short-handed lineup grew shorter, as first Risa Sato was deemed ineligible to play, then setter Joyme Cagande tore an ACL in their first match. They also suffered injuries to libero Jennifer Nierva and open hitter Ivy Lacsina.
But thanks to stellar performances from Nierva, Lacsina, and Princess Robles – alongside Joni Chavez’ conversion to setter – NU shocked the league. They earned four wins, two of which came against then-Final Four aspirants University of the Philippines.
For that, Miguel views Season 81 as an accomplishment.
“Actually, bago pa lang mag-start ‘yung season, alam naman namin ‘yung composition ng team na maraming rookies, Risa Sato was not able to play, Joyme got injured… Even before ‘yung injury ni Joyme, nag-uusap kami ng coaching staff na hindi kami nage-expect na dapat nasa Final Four,” shared Miguel.
“To be honest, ang iniisip lang namin is ‘wag lang kami maging winless in two rounds. Basta hindi lang mangyari na zero tayo because of our composition, compared sa ibang teams na competitive.
“It happened. Noong nagkaroon na kami ng first win, sobrang tumaas na ‘yung momentum namin na kaya pala. Kaya palang ma-increase ‘yung game namin and madagdagan ang wins namin. Para sa amin, malaking acheivement na ‘yung four wins. Sobra doon sa ine-expect namin,” he added, as NU won versus the UE Lady Warriors in their second outing.
Still, Miguel believes that had they had their complete off-season lineup, NU would have contended for a Final Four spot.
“Actually, ‘yung team namin na nag-training sa Thailand, ‘yun ‘yung buo. Eventually, na-realize ko na kung ito ‘yung team na naglaro ngayon, ang laki-laki ng chance talaga. Pero, siguro, hindi talaga siya mangyayare so may reason,” Miguel said.
“Sa totoo lang, we have all the reasons para gumive up. We have all the reasons. Unang-una, pang-apat na coach na nila ako. Biglang nagkaroon ng ineligible to play. May mga injuries. ‘Yung mga injury na ‘yun during training pa, tapos meron pang during the game. Ang dami. From eleven, naging ten, naging nine. Ang daming reason, pero hindi. Nandito kami, nagsama-sama kami.”
Now, Miguel is optimistic for next season, especially given the pedigree of his rookies.
“Those are the things that we have to be thankful for na marami kaming natutunan sa journey na ‘to. ‘Yung advice ko rin sa mga rookies; ‘yung four years na nag-champion sila, they were so magical. Record na ‘yun sa storybook eh. This team, create naman ng bagong magic para sa college team naman namin. ‘Yun ‘yung goal naman namin,” he declared.
“Today, we ended Season 81. Tomorrow, we start Season 82. May bakasyon naman sila, pero ang mindset naman is move on na.”
