Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
The end of an era has started at National University.
Bulldogs captain Dave Yu is one of the remnants of the team, along with Rev Diputado, that won the Season 78 title, but the skipper knows he’ll be leaving his school in a good a place just like when he was still in it.
“Of course it’s sad that I’ll be leaving but I’m happy because I’ve learned so much here in the UAAP and from the NU community and I would like to thank the UAAP for giving me this opportunity to play in such a prestigious league,” said Yu Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena after their 79-71 win over University of the East.
“I promise that the group that we will leave behind in NU will surprise you because we were hurt so much in this season and for sure they’ll get back for us.”
Yu was a mere substitute with NU when it won the title in 2015 playing just a shade above 54 total minutes and scoring just 12 points across six games.
And although Yu’s statistics didn’t become worthy of a Mythical Team nod, it was the intangibles that he brought to the Bulldogs that made him a star in his own right.
Yu was selected as the team’s skipper not for his supreme athletic ability but for the respect he commands and the way he carries himself on and off the court.
The civil engineering graduate said he wants to change the people’s perception of NU that it’s not just a burgeoning sporting school but also an institution that can compete academically.
“I’m just showing to all that NU is not just for sports, but also for education,” said Yu, who’ll take the board exams in May. “I think I’m the first student-athlete who’s a civil engineering graduate and I’m showing to my teammates that if I can do this they can to. There are a lot of student-athletes right now who are in engineering and I think I created that path for them.”
Yu added that he’s pondering if he still wants to continue his basketball career since his first priority is getting that professional license.
“I’ll think about if I will still play, if I still have that fire in me, but the first goal is to pass the boards,” said Yu.