The NU Lady Bulldogs finally got out of their funk by winning their last game against the UE Lady Warriors in dominating fashion.
NU started sluggish, as UE was able to take a slim 8-7 lead early on. Somehow, the Lady Bulldogs got out of their slump and blasted their way to victory. Led by Jaja Santiago’s 16, and team captain Myla Pablo’s 10 points, NU defeated UE in straight sets.
Prior to their match against UE, NU had lost four of their last five games. Their streak started with a five-sets loss to the Growling Tigresses. That loss seemed to bother the team as they absorbed two straight sets losses to the FEU Lady Tamaraws and the UP Lady Maroons. While NU was able to defeat Adamson in four-sets, their next match was against the defending champions, the Ateneo Lady Eagles, a game that the Lady Bulldogs lost in straight sets.
Coming off the win, Pablo shared with the media how good it felt to get back into the winning column, especially with all the backlash her team, and most especially her coach have been receiving from fans.
“Kahit paano nakakatuwa ng onti,” shared Pablo. She also mentioned how the team took their game against UE seriously, despite the Lady Warriors being at the bottom of the standings. “Nasa isip namin na hindi porket UE ang kalaban ay pwede namin i-underestimate.”
After the string of losses, the Lady Bulldogs, who were once was at the top two of the standings, find themselves mixed in the middle of the pack. Now they’re faced with a real chance of falling out of the top four if they don’t get their act together.
Now on her last eligible playing year in the UAAP, Pablo still has a positive outlook on the team’s season, and she takes this adversity as as challenge to improve.
“Challenge sa amin, kasi puro talo kami diba? Ako naman, as a captain dapat ipush namin ang sarili namin. Kailangan namin makapasok sa Final Four, so yung mga next na kalaban namin kailangan namin i-focus ang sarili namin.”
Pablo also talked about the team’s chances of making it to the playoffs. Until the middle of the first round, many believed that NU was slated for at least a twice-to-beat opportunity in the Final Four, especially after they overcame last year’s runners-up, the DLSU Lady Spikers. Now, though, just making it into the Final Four may be a problem.
“Ang sa amin lang, kailangan makapasok sa Final Four. Wag namin isipin yung nakaraan. Kailangan paghirapan ang lahat ng panalo ngayon.”
Pablo is aware that the team’s recent slide in the standings has attracted a lot of negative comments, and the number one recipient of these comments is her coach, Roger Gorayeb. And while she normally shrugs off these bashers, she can’t help but feel bad for her mentor. Pablo shared that this has motivated the team to do better. With just a few more games left in the elimination round, Pablo promises the team will do it’s best, not only for themselves, but for their coach as well.
“Ok lang kung ibash nila kami (mga players). Yung ibang fans naman kasi hindi alam yung problema namin. Hindi naman nila alam yung totoong problema eh. Parang nung nabash si coach Roger, sabi namin dapat patunayan namin na kaya namin manalo sa bawa’t game namin.”
NU will attempt to avenge their first round loss when they go against FEU later, 2pm at the Philsports Arena.
