Gemma Miranda stood tall and proud after the National University Lady Bulldogs’ latest UAAP Women’s Basketball Championship.
How couldn’t she? Miranda was declared a Mythical Five awardee before the Season 79 finals and she compounded this with the Finals MVP title with an average of 24 points and 14 rebounds against runners-up DLSU Lady Archers.
The third straight championship and the 48th straight victory capped off a stellar collegiate career for the Davao native, but things weren’t always rosy for her in NU.
Season 74 was Miranda’s first playing year for the Lady Bulldogs when one of the biggest setbacks an athlete can experience occurred.
“Noong rookie ako na ACL ako kaya double hard work ako dahil ayaw ko umuwi sa amin sa Davao at nandito ang opportunity kaya ginrab ko na. Kumain ako ng healthy at umiwas ako sa mga bagay na hindi nakakatulong sa akin at hard work lang,” narrated Miranda who was also named Rookie of the Year that season.
Fast forward to five years later and Miranda has secured three UAAP championships and two Finals MVP gongs in Seasons 77 and 79, and 48 consecutive wins as part of the Lady Bulldogs. That sure is one way to recover from that dreaded injury.
“Lord thank you parang proud ako sa sarili at sa teammates ko. Hindi lang kaming talaga ni Afril (Bernardino) pati din sa mga teammates ko, yun sobrang tulungan kami tulad sa training kung saan patayan, bugbugan at pisikalan kami para makuha ang gusto namin,” shared Miranda.
Miranda and Bernardino played their final game for NU last Wednesday, and it was bittersweet but it had to be done.
“Nag-usap kami ni Alfril, sabi ko last game na natin ito kaya ibuhos na natin at magtulungan tayo. Ipakita natin sa management, coaches at teammates na kaya natin at ipakita kung ano man ang laro natin kasi heto na iyon lalo wala nang bukas.
“Ginawa na namin kung ano man ang makakaya namin at nilaro ko kung ano man ang laro at makakaya ko, nag-adjust ako sa mistakes ko noong game one at sinusunod lang ang sinasabi ng mga coaches,” Miranda furthered.
There is no doubt that Miranda will be a big loss for the now four-peat seeking NU. She was thankful for the help of those around her in getting this far. She also advised her former teammates, “Masasabi ko lang na guys hardwork lang talaga kayo, wala nang iba. Huwag kayo gagawa ng mali at huwag gumawa ng mga bagay na hindi makakatulong sa sarili nila.”
Now that Miranda signed out of the UAAP, it’s up to the current and future Lady Bulldogs to keep up the winning tradition.
“Ako may tiwala ako sa mga teammates ko basta sinabi ko lang na trabaho lang sila at susunod lang sa sinasabi ng coaches dahil nasa kanila iyan lalo mga sarili nila ang kalaban nila. Kung gusto nila mag step-up, go lang at huwag sayangin ang opportunity na ibinigay sa inyo lalo kung kaya ninyo,” Miranda said as she tried to fight away tears.
It’s safe to say that Miranda very much experienced everything in the UAAP. That ACL injury propelled her to greater heights and that’s one thing all athletes can learn from.
