NU reminds UST: Champions never hand over crowns in UAAP women’s hoops

MANILA, Philippines – What looked like a UST coronation quickly turned into a reminder from NU that champions do not hand over crowns.

After NU’s stunning 84-79 upset of UST in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 88 women’s basketball finals, Lady Bulldogs head coach DA Olan said they simply stayed true to who they are, refusing to be rattled by a UST squad that swept the elimination round.

“Let’s go back to our normal game,” Olan said in Filipino to his squad before the title series. “Let’s not change how we play.”

The Lady Bulldogs entered the finals with a 13-2 record, including a grind-out Final Four win against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 67-66, that secured their ticket to the championship series. Their only losses came against the UST in the eliminations. 

“What we lacked in our first two meetings is that we became too conservative and our game plan really changed, just because it’s UST,” he added. 

Dominating every team this season, the Growling Tigresses also overwhelmed the Lady Bulldogs in their elimination-round meetings, beating them by 14 points in the first round (76-62) and by 20 points in the second round (105-85). 

UST had an automatic bye to the finals after going 14-0 in the elimination round.  

“The effort we gave against other teams can’t be the same in UST. We really need to add more — the best effort we can give,” Olan said. “We had to execute and put in a lot of effort. And they did that for this game.

The Lady Bulldogs reclaimed the crown in Season 87, taking it back from the Growling Tigresses, who broke their long reign in Season 86. Both series went on a grueling distance. 

UST seemed ready to pull away after a blistering 16-2 surge in the third that flipped the lead. But NU refused to flinch, and Marga Villanueva buried back-to-back triples in the clutch as the defending champions snatched control and never looked back.

Villanueva finished with 17 points while Angel Surada paced NU with 19 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals to stabilize the Lady Bulldogs in the series opener after season MVP Ann Pingol, who had 3 points, struggled with fouls throughout the game. 

“I told them, they just have to be ready, anytime they go in,” Olan said of his players. “They have to contribute in any way regardless of how many minutes they play. When they go in, they should always be ready to contribute.”

Meanwhile, NU held UST star Kent Pastrana to just 5-of-17 from the field, including a 0-of-8 clip in the three-point range, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Eka Soriano led the Tigresses with 20 points. 

Knowing UST’s veterans Soriano and Pastrana are swinging for one last shot at glory, Olan said NU is bracing for the Tigresses’ hardest hit yet.

“We will not think of Game 2 as an easy game. Our focus should be on how UST will go hard for Game 2,” he said. “We have to show focus and effort, still, perhaps even more from what they showed in Game 1.” – Rappler.com