YOU bet, losing the women’s basketball title last year left a bitter taste on National University's mouth.
So much so that Lady Bulldogs coach Aris Dimaunahan shared that his girls couldn’t wait for UAAP Season 87 to start.
From the moment they were replaced atop the mountaintop they ruled since 2014, they wanted their quest for redemption to begin.
“Siyempre new season, new beginning, and new challenges ahead. Gustong-gusto na naming magsimula ulit yung season para mabawi yung championship,” he said, relying on veterans Camille Clarin and Angel Surada to once again be the anchor for the girls from Jhocson.
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Considering the pioneering that NU has done in women’s basketball through the past decade, it’s understandable that the Lady Bulldogs are driven to reclaim what they feel belongs to them after finishing runners-up last season.
To be clear, however, their dynastic run - which included an unfathomable 108-game winning streak - are now a thing of the past. All they care about is the present.
“Hindi namin pinag-uusapan yung dynasty or even before, yung streak. Ang main goal namin every single day is we focus on the present. Yung accolades, nandyan na yan eh,” he said.
"Ang sa amin, we want to bring our all and ano mang mangyari sa dulo, we’ll be satisfied with the results."
Lessons learned the hard way are still lessons learned
Yet it doesn’t mean that they can’t learn from their past setbacks, with last year’s bridesmaid finish doling NU the reality check that if it wants to stay at the top, it has to be at its best as long as there’s time on the clock.
“The primary lesson last year is that you have to play for 40 minutes or even longer. Yun yung biggest lesson for us, from doing the game plan hanggang sa final buzzer, we have to give our best,” he said.
It also helps that NU is still considered one of the league powerhouses, beefing up its roster following the graduations of Stefanie Berberabe and Natasha Alcantara.
Highly-touted rookies Cielo Pagdulagan, Marga Villanueva, and Xyza Pring climb up to the seniors division where they will link up with the likes of Clarin, Surada, Kristine Cayabyab, Karl Ann Pingol, and Gambian center Jainaba Konateh.
However, Dimaunahan reiterated that the Lady Bulldogs’ success cannot rely on only a few.
“I expect every single player to give their all every time we step on the court. And hindi lang yun sa games, but sa practices as well,” he said.
“Yun ang sinasabi namin, na it has to start from the practices na we’re competing at a high level para madala namin yung intensity na yun to the actual games.”
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