NU's bold program reaping dividends

 MANILA, Philippines - National University now commands respect from among its rival schools in the UAAP sporting field following impressive results in the ongoing season.

Thanks to Sy family, who owns the SM chain of malls all over the country, for pouring in their resources to rebuild NU, believing that with a sound sports program, the school can be at par even with the league best.

And it didn’t take long for the school owners to see the results of their no-nonsense program.

Last year, the Bulldogs captured their first UAAP juniors basketball crown since 1974, upsetting FEU in three hard-fought games in the finals.

Then, the Bulldogs edged Ateneo, 5-4, in the deciding Game 3 to capture their first men’s baseball title since 1966.

This year, NU has taken even bigger steps in its sports development program, teaming up with SM to construct the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City as the main venue for its basketball games.

Their men’s basketball squad, led by back-to-back MVP Bobby Ray Parks Jr. won the Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Premiere Cup title last June and despite some setbacks along the way this season, made it to the Final Four with an 84-81 overtime win over FEU last Sept. 23 in a replay of their controversial game three weeks earlier.

The Bulldogs, for the first time in 11 years, finally barged into the Final Four in men’s basketball. Although they lost to the UST Tigers in their Final 4 match last Saturday, many consider their entering the Final Four as a big achievement.

The Bullpups, coached by former NU player Jeff Napa, finished second at the end of the juniors eliminations and have a strong chance to defend their title following their 80-75 win over erstwhile unbeaten FEU in their final game in the elims.

NU also clinched the UAAP men’s badminton title after beating Ateneo, 3-2, in the finals.

The Bulldogs gained an outright finals slot after sweeping all their seven matches in the eliminations.

Bulldog Joper Escueta also took home the MVP plum.

NU’s Cheer Squadron placed a surprisingly strong third in the last UAAP Cheerdance Competition, trailing runner-up FEU and perennial champion University of the Philippines.

“We felt like champions,” said Gheveeka Bernabe, one of the coaches for NU.

It was a bit of a surprise finish for NU, which was composed mostly of new recruits and headed by new coaches. Bernabe said that almost all of the members of the team are freshmen and sophomore students, while all the coaches – four of them – were joined the team just this season.

NU also recently won the men’s beach volleyball title with a close finals win over FEU with Bulldog Edwin Tolentino winning MVP honors.

Very clearly, the long-term sports program initiated by athletic director Junel Baculi, with full support from the management led by Hans Sy and UAAP president Nilo Ocampo, has been reaping its valuable rewards, inspiring Baculi to work harder for the success of National University.