Last Season: 6-8 (6th Place)
Head Coach: Jeff Napa (2nd season)
Who's Gone? Issa Gaye, Shaun Ildefonso, Janjan Felicilda, Reyland Torres
Who's Still Here? John Lloyd Clemente, Steve Nash Enriquez, Jake Figueroa
Who's New? Omar John, PJ Palacielo, Kean Baclaan
DESPITE the roster changes that National University has endured in the offseason, coach Jeff Napa enters the new campaign flashing a big smile.
Through it all, the Bulldogs didn't just land on their feet but stood firm, winning the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup and the PG Flex Linoleum-UCBL Preseason Tournament crowns.
See Tab says more teams training overseas boosts quality of UAAP play
John Lloyd Clemente leads a team featuring guards Steve Nash Enriquez and Kean Baclaan, hungry wingers like Jake Figueroa, Michael Malonzo, and RJ Minerva, and hard-nosed bigs in Omar John and Germy Mahinay in UAAP Season 85.
Undersized and usually underestimated, NU has thrived being in this position, refusing to take no for an answer and exceeding everyone's expectations.
Yet preseason success, as Napa would be the first to argue, mean little for the Bulldogs. What matters for him still is what happens during the season.
"Ginawa na namin lahat para iprepara sila dahil alam namin yung papasukin naming giyera," he said. "Hopefully lang, di kami maging banderang kapos."
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