IT's been a roller-coaster Playtime Cares Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup for National U, to say the least.
Prior to the tournament, the Bulldogs' future was looking bright, with dynamic guard Mac Alfanta primed to serve as the undesrtudy to Jake Figueroa and Jolo Manansala.
At the same time, more Bullpups in Migs Palanca and Collins Akowe were poised to beef up the blue-and-gold frontline.
Only, Palanca and Akowe instead took their talents to the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, respectively.
In just a month, NU's today and tomorrow took quite the hit. But head coach Jeff Napa isn't sounding the alarms just yet.
“Ganun pa rin naman yung program eh, we’re concentrating sa baba. May mga hindi namin kontrolado, pero yung mga bagay na ‘yun, hindi na para intindihin namin,” he told SPIN.ph, adamant that their tried-and-true grassroots program still stands strong.
And actually, those who stayed loyal to Jhocson are insisting they aren't losing any sleep from the recent defections.
“Wala naman akong pakialam kahit anong mangyari,” said Napa. “Siyempre kahit papano, kung ano yung nandyan sa amin, ‘yan ang kailangan paghandaan. Hindi ko na iniintindi kung ano man yung nangyari whatsoever, lagi kaming move forward.”
The colors of National U
Even more, Napa's Bulldogs remain upbeat about the oncoming UAAP Season 88 - even though their best-laid plans, as they're wont to do, went awry.
As he put it, “Hindi sila naapektuhan. Kasi alam naman nila kung sino naging loyal sa NU eh. Alam nila kung sino yung magpapakamatay para sa NU.”
What matters most now for National U is that they continue to prove their loyalty - and that they stay true to themselves.
“Ang mindset namin, kung mag-stay kayo, masaya kami. If you decide to go somewhere else, hindi na para magrason nang kung ano-ano pa. Kasi totoong tao lahat ng player ko eh, kumbaga walang pinapakitang malisya,” shared Napa.
“Wag ka lang magsisinungaling, yun ang medyo foul sa kanila. Yun ang tinuro ko sa kanila, na maging straight to the point at honest ka, pakikisamahan ka talaga nila nang buong-buo.”
READ: Rocked by sudden departures, NU holds on tighter together
With the Bulldogs having won three of their last four games and clinching the fourth seed out of the UAAP Group in the preseason tourney, it looks like they actually found a situation of addition by subtraction.
And each and every one of them are ready and raring to keep giving their all.
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