Gilas Pilipinas women coach Pat Aquino. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Pat Aquino, the architect of the National University Lady Bulldogs’ historic winning streak, hopes their feat won’t be replicated any time soon.
The Lady Bulldogs’ winning run that started eight years ago ended on Wednesday after an overtime loss to La Salle.
“I know it’s just a streak, but of course, it’s been a very long streak. 108 games straight? Hopefully, nobody beats that in the near future,” said Aquino, the former NU women’s basketball team coach, at halftime of the Ateneo-UP men’s basketball matchup on Saturday.
“It saddens me of course because that was a long one. Six years and more plus the 96-0 we had, you know? It kind of saddens me on my part and the others. Actually, not just me, but other players who were part of that said, ‘coach, sayang (too bad),’” he added.
Aquino stepped down as NU’s coach last May to fully focus on his duty as mentor and program director of Gilas Pilipinas Women and to bolster Blackwater’s coaching staff in the PBA. He was replaced by Aris Dimaunahan.
“They said sorry. I said, it happens. Because it really happens, you know? This is the time to, not really regroup, but to show up. You’re leaders out there, I told CC (Camille Clarin) and the others,” said Aquino.
Still, as a proponent of Philippine women’s basketball, seeing the progression of other schools’ recruitment programs surprises the veteran coach.
Monitoring the UAAP women’s basketball scene also gave Aquino a look at potential talents that could bolster the women’s national team program in the future.
“I was watching the games of UAAP women’s and a lot has really improved like UST, Ateneo, which has Kaycee Dela Rosa, a rookie playing that kind of basketball? I told my coaching staff [in Gilas] you will have a lot of work to do. You’ll have to talk to a lot of players.”