"EVERYONE on our team, mula sa teammates ko including me, bumitaw kami."
These were the stinging words of Nic Cabañero, who couldn't hide the pain of defeat — let alone 19 in a row — for his beloved UST Tigers.
READ: Ateneo gets back on track, keeps UST winless in UAAP Season 86
With the goal of 'leaving a legacy' in his basketball stomping ground, the 19-year-old ace bared his frustration as a central figure in last season's 1-13 (win-loss) team and in this year's 0-6 UST squad.
"Siyempre masakit kasi kasama ako doon eh. ‘Yung mga ibang teammates ko rin kasama ko from my first year hanggang sa third year ko ngayon," Cabañero said.
"Sobrang nasasaktan kasi ako kasi sobrang mahal ko ‘yung UST. Diyan ako grumaduate ng senior high school. Hopefully, gusto ko rin maka-leave ng legacy sa school kahit papano together with my teammates."
Struggles in defeat
Like everyone else, Cabañero also revealed how he himself couldn't point a finger on what exactly is wrong with the still-winless Tigers.
"Hindi ko rin masabi in terms of (what went wrong) kasi ang masasabi ko lang talaga is may kanya-kanya kaming mga personal na attitude na instead na lalaban kami, like for example nakaka-run nang konti ‘yung kalaban, bababa iyong morale namin.
"Pangit talaga ‘yun kasi hindi pa naman tapos ‘yung laro. Dapat i-lift up na talaga namin iyong isa’t isa para mas mag-connect pa kami," Cabañero shared.
A lot of fight left
The numbers might not reflect it, but there's certainly a lot of fight left in Cabañero to put an end to the school's longest-ever losing streak in UAAP men's basketball.
"I think ‘yung hope is andiyan pa rin. We made a lot of mistakes, I think we need to improve and tiwala lang kami sa isa’t isa. Parang masakit din sabihin na nada-down kami pero laban pa rin kami kasi hindi pa naman tapos ‘yung season," the third-year UST ace shared.
"Kayang-kaya ko pa rin para sa UST, para sa team ko, gagawin ko lahat. Alam ko rin naman na ‘yung mga teammates ko, coaches ko, and management, malaki ang tiwala sa akin."
The España side looks to dodge a 20th straight loss in its first-round finale against their resurgent Morayta counterparts FEU, 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
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