Despite being on the brink of elimination, National University senior winger Camille Clarin remains defiant.
This after the Lady Bulldogs were stunned by the UST Growling Tigresses, 72-76, in the best-of-three UAAP Women’s Basketball Finals on Wednesday.
Clarin stressed that just like the time they lost to La Salle a year ago or to University of the Philippines in just the second gameday of the season, they will bounce back.
“I’m just glad we have a chance to bounce back.
“Not everyone gets that chance. We’re not gonna take it lightly. This season, we’ve already faced a lot. This is nothing new. As we said, our mantra is together. We win together and lose together,” said the 22-year-old Filipino-Canadian winger.
“We’re gonna come back stronger. We’re gonna be more disciplined in game two and we’re gonna give it our all and try to force a game three in this series,” she continued.
Before this match, NU had a 20-game winning streak against UST that spanned nine seasons. All good things have to come to an end, though, and the Lady Bulldogs finally tasted defeat at the hands of the Growling Tigresses at the worst time yet.
There is a real danger that NU will fail to defend its crown this season. However, Clarin was adamant that the Lady Bulldogs have enough character in them to dig deep and win two straight games to clinch an eighth straight championship.
“We already talked about this at the beginning of the season. This is easily the most competitive we’ve seen in women’s basketball ever since it started but that doesn’t change anything,” the 5-foot-7 Gilas mainstay said.
“We’re still looking forward to the challenge. We’re still gonna stay together regardless of what’s gonna happen at the end of the series but NU knows how to win. I believe that we’re gonna have a chance. The ball’s in our court. We’re either gonna win or die trying.”
