How NU built the team that owns longest win streak in college basketball

NOT a waking day that Patrick Henry Aquino fears for the worst.

"Takot ako," he quipped, aware of the fine line that separates greatness and infamy whenever he holds court.

When you're the architect of the most successful women's basketball program in the country, that's the kind of juggling act you need to deal with every time the opening buzzer sounds and the ball is tipped in the air.

But truth be told, Aquino never thought that he'll be in this position, all the more a history-maker, when he took over the National University Lady Bulldogs job from Paul Du back in 2013.

"As far as I’m concerned when I got this job, it was really to just build the team itself and make it to a champion team," the 47-year-old bench strategist looked back.

Long known as cellar-dwellers in the UAAP, NU has reformed itself into a school with a solid athletics program in the past decade, and the women's basketball team was one with those changes.

"When I started, we had a hard time winning. The winning tradition is not there. The school was a small school and nobody wants to go to this school," he frankly admitted.

That notion, though unfair, was true. After all, why would anyone want to go to a campus situated somewhere in Sampaloc if there are far more popular options available like Ateneo or La Salle?

Aquino, against all odds, liked the challenge.

The idea of building a team and turning them to winners intrigued him. In a way, it was his chance of doing the things he thought should have been done back in his playing days in University of the Philippines.

"We know yung winning tradition from that 1986 championship," he said.

The Fighting Maroons are still living off the shadows of the 1986 champion team but wasn't able to reach the same success during Aquino's stay there with coach Rey Madrid calling the shots.

"We had that unlucky seasons from 1989 to 1993. Yung experience na nangyari sa akin, nakita ko kung paano gumawa ng team. I thought that yung support na binibigay sa amin ng school was really lacking," he said.

In NU, that wasn't an issue at all.

"With this kind of support, sabi ko makakagawa tayo ng isang magandang team for the future," he said.

Truth be told, that was the easy part.

The hard part? It's the same with programs which hardly achieved success: changing the culture.

"The way we built the team is the toughest part. We started the team from scratch talaga na from the start, hindi agad malakas eh. We started it from zero and dahan-dahan naming ginawa," he said.

Aquino knew the marching order was to win championships. But he also believed that the program should be more than just recruiting bluechip prospects and honing the players' skills in the basketball court. Collecting titles should only be a by-product of the process.

"Ginawa naming family. Dinahan-dahan namin. We recruited players that would really fit the system, fit the environment of the school and through that, we made them a family," he said. "Once we built the team and managed the team properly, through the years naging ganito yung NU."

And the rest, as they say, was history.

Setlling for a runner-up finish in Aquino's first year at the helm, NU has gone unbeaten since, starting from its 62-46 win over Adamson in July 13, 2014 to kickstart its Season 77 campaign, to its latest being a 96-57 triumph over UST on October 27, 2018 for win no. 74 -- setting the new UAAP record for longest winning streak in any sport in the league's history.

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It's an unprecedented run which has now spanned 1,570 days and counting.

In the process, the juggernaut that are the Lady Bulldogs also bagged four UAAP women's cage titles, and possibly ring no. 5 with another triumph this year.

Looking at the roster of talents that have worn the NU blue and gold gives you a who's who in the modern era of Philippine women's basketball, from Gemma Miranda, Andrea Tongco, and Shelley Gupilan to now with Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, and Ria Nabalan.

But the girls know that the accolades they're currently reaping right now is all thanks to their familial bond like no other.

"Hindi naman namin magagawa (itong streak) kung hindi kami sama-sama," said Nabalan, who's been in every single one of those 74 straight wins. "May tiwala kami sa isa't isa at together kami naglalaro."

Animam added: "Hindi ko inisip na matatalo kami kahit dumidikit yung mga kalaban namin. Sabi ko sa team, 'We got this. As long as we stay together, nobody can beat us.' It's just ourselves. Nasa sa atin kung paano natin lalaruin yung mga laro natin."

For Aquino, it's already a mission accomplished.

"It became a tradition for them na talagang when we stick together, be like family and help each other in doing things, nakukuha namin yung gusto namin and yung goal namin," he said, hoping that the winning culture continues moving forward.

"We're building families here, we're building the way, not only to basketball, but the way to life after basketball and life after school. What happens here with this team, I think most of the players who came here and went out already have learned so many things about life, not just in basketball, on being together and being in one family."

"I'm proud of them through the years na nandito ako, and with them also after their graduation, natutulungan pa nila kami. They help here katulad nila Jack, Ria, the new ones like (Jeanne) Camelo, Monique del Carmen. Hopefully after their playing years, they come back and help the new ones like sila (Jeeuel) Bartolo, (Mayu) Goto, Melody Cac, and all those girls para sana magtuloy-tuloy ang tradition namin dito sa NU."

Thanks to this immaculate run, not a few observers couldn't help but liken Aquino's handiwork to that of Geno Auriemma's, the legendary coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team which won 11 NCAA titles that includes an awe-inspiring 111-game winning streak.

However, just like when he accepted the NU job, Aquino aspired for something grander: to erase the stigma of basketball being a sport purely for men, that just like how these ladies have shown through the years, they, too, can play ball.

"Medyo sexist kasi ang mga Pilipino. When Filipinos watch basketball, they look up to men. When they look on women, iniisip nila volleyball agad. Medyo sexist yung pagiisip na basketball is for men and volleyball is for women," he said.

"But I would like to expound on that, na these girls can play. They have talents and they can show you how much more basketball is than just men. Women can play basketball and they can really excel on things that you haven't seen from the men. Magaling din sila and they can play."

Aquino, who's also the head coach of the Philippine women's basketball team, knows first hand how Filipinas have broken glass ceilings before, being at the forefront when the Perlas Pilipinas ladies helped the country get promoted to Level I of Asian basketball back in 2015.

Filipinas have also made waves overseas, with former Lady Bulldogs like Bernardino and Miranda, to name a few, serving as imports in the club teams in the Southeast Asian region.

With NU's record-setting feat garnering attention, Aquino hopes that the glitter rubs off on the sport as a whole.

"More than NU's streak being recognized, I hope that the whole Philippines will see that women's basketball is also very much alive. With that recognition, we can bring out more talent and produce here para makapaglaro sila sa national team eventually," he said.

"That's why I'm saying I hope we can erase that stigma na sana, they could watch and see these girls play and maybe, a big sponsor can help us promote women's basketball more. I think we have good talents that can promote women's basketball, not only here in the Philippines but also internationally and we can give honor to the country."

Animam, the Season 80 Most Valuable Player, agrees with her coach.

"Siguro sa ganoon man lang, ma-appreciate kami ng tao and then siguro, unti-unti doon lalaki ang suporta sa women's basketball," she said.

But all good things must come to an end, and what goes up must come down. Aquino isn't naive to know that sometime in the not too distant future, NU's historic streak is bound for its curtain call.

"I always put it at the back of my mind every game we play. It will always feel like a championship game. It would be very, very hard if we lose a game. I know it's like counting steps going up, and if you fall 100 steps back, it's gonna be that hard," he said, fully aware of the reality of the situation.

What he's sure of, though, is that when that time comes, these women are well-equipped to deal with the situation, that a defeat won't be the end of their world and there will always be another game to play.

"That's why I always tell them to play as if this is your last game. We practice as hard as it was a championship game. So we just have to be ready," he said. "I know the streak will end. Hopefully it's not one of these days, but we hope to ready when that time comes."

When that time comes, the legacy of the NU Lady Bulldogs is already set in stone.

"We're here to build not only champions but the lives of these girls after basketball and after school. I’m proud that we've been doing that, and as much as we can, all players should be graduating. I'm happy na ganoon sila. They did not just help us but also we helped themfor their families for the future," he said.

And it's not just limited to those girls who walked the streets of Jhocson, as Aquino wishes that the Lady Bulldogs' success serves as an inspiration for everyone who dares to dream.

"With this historic win, we hope na it doesn't only make them look at NU as the epitome of women’s basketball here in the Philippines, but also as someone to be looked up to by the kids wanting to dream," he said. "Sana ma-follow nila and makapagbigay kami ng inspiration to everybody, that if you stay together, be a family, and work hard with what you want, maa-achieve niyo yung goal ninyo."