Nazareth School of National University hasn’t figured out Far Eastern University-Diliman in two tries in the UAAP 85 Boys Basketball Tournament.
And to stay alive and kicking, the three-seed Bullpups have to go through the two-seed Baby Tamaraws – twice!
“After the game, sabi ko lang na stay positive. Move forward na tayo,” shared first-year head coach Kevin De Castro last Wednesday, after FEU-D topped NSNU in the virtual battle for the playoff incentive.
“Talagang ganun e. Siguro, binibigyan kami ng ibang challenge ni God.”
The good news for the two-time defending champions, though, is that their storied program has been here before. The first championship in this dynastic run that has seen them win all five out of the last nine tournaments came by way of the third-seed.
Then led by Rap Atangan in 2011, NSNU downed De La Salle Zobel twice before bowing to FEU-D in Game 1 of the Finals. They, however, won the next two games by an average of 10 points.
In the end, the third-seed was champion.
Even better for the Bullpups this time around? The architect of that breakthrough title team remains in Sampaloc. Jeff Napa, then their shot-caller, still stands as mentor to the blue-and-gold basketball program – and to De Castro himself.
“Ang dami ko nang natutunan sa first year ko. And thankful akong nandyan pa rin sina coach Jeff and yung iba pang staff ko,” remarked De Castro. “Yung pressure, yung expectations, malaki for me. Buti na lang nandito pa rin si coach Jeff na talagang gumabay sa akin ever since.”
The youthful rookie coach played high school basketball in Mapua before suiting up for the Bulldogs for one year in Season 78. Unfortunately, a heart condition cut short his playing career.
He then turned to coaching, where he found a kindred spirit in Napa, himself a former amateur who swiftly shifted to drawing on the whiteboard.
Now, Napa is the man behind NU’s return to relevance in the seniors, while De Castro is engineering NSNU’s retooling in the juniors. Without a doubt, the latter continues to look up to the former.
“Si Coach Jeff, he expects a lot from his players, that’s why he’s hard on them. Yun yung gusto kong ma-adopt sa kanya,” shared De Castro.
“Ako kasi, softspoken coach ako. Yung pagiging good motivator pa, yun yung gusto kong makuha kay coach Jeff. In the next two to three years, kailangan kong makuha na rin yung identity niya na yun.”
If his heart permits, Kevin De Castro hopes to be just as fiery as Jeff Napa. For now, though, a twice-to-beat disadvantage is staring at him and his wards. When it comes to that, however, the NSNU Bullpups know a thing or two about coming from all the way behind to win it all.
