When National University lost their opening day game against Adamson via a buzzer-beater, Bulldogs head coach Jamike Jarin said that he was still proud of the Bulldogs’ stand.
Unfortunately, a string of bad luck then followed.
He first asked to be confined to St. Lukes after a cardiac loss to La Salle. He then went further, asking everyone to visit his wake in St. Peter’s Funeral Home and pay tribute to him in a columbary after an overtime loss to UST and another one-pointer at the hands of UP, respectively.
Then came a 71-50 beating at the hands of Ateneo.
For all Jarin’s experience and accolades as a mentor, that string of defeats was one of the toughest rides he’d had.
“I can’t remember how many…” he said, trying to grasp words to describe their five-game losing stretch. “It’s part of the job, part of the growth, part of the journey.
“These young men will encounter a lot of problems in their young lives. But with adversities, I’m sure they are going to be fine.”
As they say, you have to go through hell to get to heaven.
In their sixth game, the Bulldogs played their best basketball against the FEU Tamaraws. By the half, they were able to limit the Tamaraws to just 13 points. As the dust settled, they had rewritten FEU’s history books, limiting them to just 39 points — the school’s worst scoring outing in 16 years.
And yes, NU picked up their first win of the season.
Still, Jarin remained straight-faced. No celebration, no primal scream. Not even a fist pump.
Through the wins and the losses, Jarin has been the emotional stabilizer for the Bulldogs.
“Do you see my face now? Same face in a win or a loss. I’m always like this.
“Kasi for me, alam niyo naman yun, I mentor these young men on and off the court. They go through ups and downs, they’re young! Hindi ka puwedeng unang umayaw. We are relieved with the victory but we can’t stay happy because we just have one win,” said Jarin, who is in his third year as NU head coach.
Moreover, Jarin saw no need to celebrate this small triumph. After all, it was just one game, and they need to catch up with the rest of the field really badly.
“We cannot relax because we only have one win. They are mature enough right now.”
