NU ends 60-year journey

MANILA, Philippines - When the final buzzer ended, there was literally an outpouring of emotions as the diehards among the record crowd spilled into the court to finally herald the end of a long journey for National University.

It was a 60-year trip from a limbo of a doghouse to the firmament of league cage stars as the Bulldogs finally nailed the UAAP men’s basketball championship over the Far Eastern U Tams in sudden death.

Before a record crowd of more than 25,000 fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, the Bulldogs finally ended six decades of title drought with a title conquest six years in the making.

That was the highlight of the Bulldogs’ rise to prominence in the varsity league. Actually, it was their season to own.

With only the women’s volley title up for grabs for the first semester, the NU student-athletes have collared five championships in all in the season, including women’s basketball, the fourth school to achieve the feat after DLSU (1999-2001 and 2013), UST (94, 95, and 06) and FEU (95).

The Sampaloc-based school has also reigned supreme in men’s beach volleyball and men’s badminton, aside from ruling the cheerdance competition for the second straight year.

It’s taken a lot of hardwork, stressed NU chairman Hans Sy, whose family took over the school reins six years ago.

“I wouldn’t say we predicted it but I can say we worked very hard for it,” he said.

 “A lot of people will think I spent a lot of money. Ang mga ginastos ko lang are really facilities and equipment the ones really needed for a program. Hindi naman dinadaan sa pera (It’s not about money) but it’s about trust and respect. You earn the athletes’ respect and we impose discipline on them,” he added.

For NU basketball coach Eric Altamirano, the school should make the most out of this fresh start to take a path of excellence in the collegiate league.

“It’s really a breakthrough for the school and I hope this is just the start for NU. Sana (Hopefully) the culture, the winning tradition will be there na (already) and that we’ll be able to follow through,” said Altamirano.

The Bulldogs broke an excruciating title drought spanning 60 years with a 75-59 rout of Far Eastern U Tams in front of a record 25,138 crowd, completing NU’s graduation from perennial whipping boy to the league’s top dog.

NU hit paydirt on the fourth year of a revitalized basketball program under Altamirano, who was tapped by the school owner to lead the Bulldogs out of the doghouse and into the summit.

The road to the top was tough and filled with obstacles.

In 2011, the Bulldogs fell short of a Final Four, landing fifth. The following year, with Bobby Ray Parks cleared to play and living up to expectations, the Bulldogs advanced to the semis as No. 3 but fell to No. 2 Santo Tomas. Toughened by this breakthrough, Parks and company zoomed to No. 1 in 2013 but yielded twice to the fourth-ranked Tigers as they saw their drought extended one more year.

“On our first year, ang battle cry namin was respect. We wanted to earn the respect of the league kasi lagi namang talo (coming off numerous losses). And then we tried to change the culture of the team, make them believe. Yung second year namin (Our goal in the second year) was to make them believe that they can win. Yung third year namin (Come the third year, we felt) we can win it. And then ngayong fourth year ko, I guess it’s just icing on the cake that we’re able to win it,” said Altamirano.

After bungling what many believed their best chance to finally regain lost glory in Season 76, the Bulldogs found themselves orphaned by the exodus of key players. Parks waived his last playing year to try it out in the US as Sean Mbe, Robin Rono, and Denice Villamor graduated and Joef Javillonar suffered an ACL.

But Altamirano saw “something special” while preparing the squad during summer.

“We played a (PBA) D-League team in the summer and we were behind the whole game but won by a buzzer-beater. I told them after the game, there’s something special about this team, I just couldn’t pinpoint it. And for some reason, they showed it this season,” said the soft-spoken coach.

Fourth-year guard Gelo Alolino and senior players Troy Rosario and Glenn Khobuntin took the leadership mantle and blended well with new import Alfred Aroga and young guns like Pao Javelona, Rev Diputado and Jayj Alejandro in a team-centered, defense-oriented play.

“We knew coming to the season we won’t have our key players, not just Bobby Ray and Sean, we lost most of our starters except for Gelo. So we tried to figure out what’s gonna happen to this year. Who would imagine we would be champions this year?” said Altamirano.

The Bulldogs found their identity in playing as a unit, both in offense and defense.

“The style of play we showed was really centered on team; it’s not on any individual. We’re able to share the ball on offense, you don’t know which of them will shine in a particular game,” Altamirano said.

“We also have teamwork in defense. With the type of defense we play, we can’t do it if everyone’s not on the same page. And the players take pride in that. Most teams, they want to score but this team, they love to play defense,” he added.

Hunger wasn’t wanting for the team that was determined to redeem itself from the botched title drive in 2013.

“Gusto naming bumawi kasi sobrang sakit nung nangyari sa amin last year, ayaw na maming maulit yun. Napaganda na, nakuha namin ang first championship ng NU after 60 years (Last year’s loss was so painful so we were determined not to let it happen again. It even got better as we won NU’s first title in 60 years),” said Alolino.

Hurt by their lack of a  finishing kick in big games the previous years, the Bulldogs discovered the winning touch and closed out five do-or-die games in the playoffs of Season 77.

They beat University of the East in the KO for the last semis berth, 51-49, then nosed out top seed Ateneo with a pair of pulsating F4 victories, 78-74 and 65-63. They dropped the Finals opener against FEU, 70-75, but stayed alive with a 62-47 rout and finally won it all, 75-59.

“I’ve always felt confident of the team. When we entered the finals, parang (it seemed like) the trials that we had to go through made us stronger, parang it gave us the confidence as we hurdle one playoff after another, parang lalong lumalakas ang team, lalo silang nagiging close (the team gets tougher and more bonded), those are good signs for a team that will win it,” said Altamirano.

Rosario, Khobuntin and fellow frontliners Henry Betayene and Tristan Perez could all say goodbye to the UAAP with smiles on their faces.

“I think ito yung pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko. Best moment ng life ko ito. I think blessed ako kasi kung kailan last year ko dun kami nag-champion,” said Rosario who had a breakout season.

The departure of the four will leave a gaping hole in the middle for NU, with Aroga left to man the fort.

“Definitely, we’re going to be less competitive as this year. But who knows? This year din (with Parks and company gone) akala namin pupulutin kami sa kangkungan (we thought we couldn’t reach this far). But we’ll never know, maybe another player will step up again (next year),” said Altamirano.