BECAUSE of the needs stemming from what National U lost, Steve Nash Enriquez admitted that last season really wasn’t the best of him and his team.
“Last year, may what if. What if hindi nawala si Mo [Diassana]? Kasi alam namin na kaya namin, pero ganoon yung nangyari. Kahit ako, kailangan umiskor kasi wala talaga,” he lamented, looking back at how they lost their foreign student-athlete in the first quarter of their first game.
With the Bulldogs forced to make adjustments, their progress took a hit and they ultimately missed the Final Four for the first time in three years.
But new season means new start, and the spitfire Cebuano court general is ready to bring his mojo back, promising to return to the pass-first premier playmaker that everyone has come to know.
“Ngayon, binalik ko yung dati na pinapasaya ko lahat ng kakampi ko. Gusto ko lang mapasaya itong team na ito,” said Enriquez.
Playmaking, though, isn’t the only thing that the 5-foot-9 guard is looking to focus on, as he also seeks to be a menace on the defensive end, which he already showed flashes of in the preseason.
“Alam kong maraming magaling na guards dito sa UAAP, pero gusto ko under the radar lang ako. Ang target ko talaga is maipakita lalo yung improvement ko sa depensa,” said Enriquez, who nabbed a league-best 2.3 steals in the PlayTime Cares Filoil EcoOil 18th Preseason Cup.
Steve Nash, a champion?
With those two skills at the core of his attack plan, the senior Bulldog believes that NU can dream of big things, especially with this being his final playing year together with fellow 'OGs' Jake Figueroa and Jolo Manansala.
READ: NU 'OGs' Figueroa, Enriquez, Manansala hope to leave behind legacy of doggedness
And he wasn’t shy with what he’s really gunning for this UAAP Season 88.
“Championship,” Enriquez said affirmatively. “Ilang taon na heartbreak na yung naranasan namin. Maraming 'di naniniwala, pero alam namin sa sarili namin yung kakayanan ng team. Nakikita ko na contender kami, pero kailangan namin paghirapan.”
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