National University head coach Jeff Napa needed to remind his players to return to playing team basketball to recover from their loss to University of the Philippines in their previous game.
The Bulldogs played unselfishly as they defeated the University of Santo Tomas 87-69, improving their record to 3-1 in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
Napa emphasized what his team needs to do to surpass a Growling Tigers squad he is familiar with. The NU tactician is part of the three-time champions Colegio de San Juan de Letran “Superfriends” with Bonnie Tan, Pido Jarencio, and Waiyip Chong — the three of whom are part of UST as consultant, head coach, and team manager, respectively.
“Hindi ko naman ineexpect ito (blowout) kasi UST alam ko naman very strong team ito. Yung namamahala doon, alam niyo naman kumbaga matagal ko na kasama yung mga nandoon sa kabila so yung understanding namin pare-pareho,” said Napa.
“Siyempre hindi magpapatalo talaga lalo sila Coach Pido so yun lang yung minndset ko talaga sa kanila dahil I know kung ano yung kayang ibigay ng UST na yan.”
In their 78-60 loss to the Fighting Maroons last Saturday, the Bulldogs only managed to record 10 assists. This time, they moved the ball well, resulting in 23 assists. Steve Nash Enriquez had six, Kean Baclaan collected five, and John Galinato provided four assists.
Eleven of the 13 NU players who played scored at least four points each, with Mike Malonzo leading the way with 14 points, followed by Jolo Manansala with 13, Jake Figueroa with 11, and Enriquez with 10.
“Yung total team effort namin talaga yun yung dapat mangibabaw ngayon, hindi yung pagiging selfish ng bawat player. Nung last time, medyo naging selfish lahat. At least ngayon, pinakita nila na they are enjoying as a group,” said Napa.
“As long as we’re enjoying as a group, wala kaming problema. Siguro lahat ng teams will be scared if we play as a group. We built this team as a group, hindi naman isang tao lang eh. Yun yung lagi kong ine-emphasize.”
NU will conclude the first round against De La Salle University, University of the East, and Adamson University.
