Steve Nash Enriquez admitted that it was a hard pill to take that his beloved National University started the UAAP Season 87 collegiate men’s basketball tournament at 1-3.
And it stings more since two of their losses came in crunch time – De La Salle University escaped them on opening weekend, 78-75, and University of Santo Tomas shocked them on Saturday, 67-64.
“Mahirap, sobrang hirap kasi ganito yung nangyayari,” said the Bulldogs’ floor general after their loss to the Tigers.
“Sobra kasi sobrang sakit ba. Alam kong tinrabaho namin ng 38 minutes eh, so ‘yung last two minutes, hindi naman ibig sabihin na bumitaw. Pero parang ‘yung hangin hindi papunta sa amin, pero ganon talaga. Just live with it.”
NU actually held a 60-53 lead midway through the fourth quarter. However, UST rallied through the combined efforts of Nic Cabañero, Mo Tounkara, and Forthsky Padrigao to completely turn the game around.
The Bulldogs are now in sixth, just above winless Far Eastern University and Ateneo de Manila University.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Despite what’s happening in NU, Enriquez still believes in his team – which won back-to-back bronze medals in the league.
“Sinasabi ko lang sa kanila there’s no time para magmukmok kasi ito na eh. Hindi namin kailangan ibaon ‘yung mga sarili namin kasi nangyari na yun eh, natalo na kami. So kung ibabaon pa namin yung mga sarili namin, paano kami makakatayo?” said the namesake of a former two-time NBA MVP.
“Hangga’t healthy kami, alam namin na kaya namin. Pamilya ko ito eh, pamilya ko itong NU. So alam namin na we have each other’s backs, so tuloy pa rin yung laban.”
Enriquez, a pass-first guard, waxed hot from deep in the third period with four three-pointers. He finished with a game-high 17 points to go with five assists and three rebounds.
Still, it wasn’t enough.
But even with the early challenges that this season has thrown at them – including their Malian center Mo Diassana tearing his ACL right in the first game – Enriquez knows that they will be all right with head coach Jeff Napa guiding them.
“One-thousand percent tiwala ako sa team na ito. Masakit hindi ba, nawalan kami ng import, five minutes lang ng unang laro ng UAAP. Pero ganon talaga. 15-man strong,” he asserted.
“May mga coaches naman kami na hindi kami pinapabayaan, hindi kami pinapabayaan ni Coach Jeff so tuloy pa rin,” said the 21-year-old Cebuano.
“Masakit pero hanggang nandito ako as their leader, kinocontinue ko na mag-lead sa kanila para hindi kami mabaon. Tuloy pa rin ang buhay.”
