NU guard Gelo Alolino takes a layup against the defense of UST’s Ed Daquioag. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
National University only needs to look back on the previous season to keep its title hopes burning in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.
Out of the top four, the Bulldogs are targeting another improbable run to boost their bid for back-to-back championships.
“We’ve been here before, so [there’s] no reason why we can’t do it again,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano. “No reason why we can’t create our own miracles.”
The Bulldogs lay in fifth spot with a 5-7 record, just half a game behind La Salle (5-6).
Last year, the Bulldogs survived consecutive knockout games on the way to bagging their first championship in 60 years.
The incredible romp started with the Bulldogs outlasting University of the East in a playoff for the last Final Four berth.
In the Final Four, the Bulldogs overcame the twice-to-beat advantage of No. 1 Ateneo, before shocking the favored Far Eastern University in the best-of-three title series.
So Altamirano thinks his Bulldogs—the first fourth-seeded team to capture the crown—should stay motivated heading into the last two weeks of the eliminations.
“Everything that happens, it happens for a purpose,” said Altamirano. “If it’ going to build our character, so be it.”
Far Eastern University (10-1) and University of Santo Tomas (9-2) already secured half of the Final Four berths, but NU and four other teams still remain in contention for the last two slots.
“We have to win all our games,” said Altamirano.
The Bulldogs only have two elimination games left versus University of the Philippines on Nov. 8 and FEU on Nov. 14.