Aquino says NU dynasty to stay

MANILA, Philippines - NU senior women’s basketball team coach Pat Aquino said the other day he’s determined to preserve the Lady Bulldogs’ dynasty in the UAAP but what’s as important as their 48-0 record over the last three championship seasons is the statistic that 75 percent of the players graduate from school with degrees.

Aquino, 45, said ever since he took over the NU program five years ago, the Lady Bulldogs haven’t looked back. In his first season, NU almost made the Final Four but lost to Ateneo in a playoff for the last ticket. In his second season, the Lady Bulldogs qualified for their first-ever playoffs and lost to La Salle in the finals. Then, NU rolled to a 48-0 record in the next three seasons where the Lady Bulldogs were untouchable to collect three straight crowns.

“We went from nothing to build a dynasty,” said Aquino. “This was something everyone worked hard to achieve. The management team is the best in the UAAP with Sir Hans (Sy), Sir Herbert (Sy), Sir Herson (Sy), Boss Dio (Dioceldo Sy), Sir Mike (Tan) and Sir Mike (Lim). I’m just grateful to be a part of the process with our coaching staff. We did it for the school, to establish a winning tradition.”

Aquino said it’s a challenge to sustain a winning record in varsity basketball with players coming and going because of graduation. “Recruitment is critical,” he said. “And it’s not just about getting the best basketball players but also finding athletes who are responsible students. We want our players to be successful not only on the court but also in life. We treat our team like a family. If some players finish their playing eligibility but haven’t earned their degrees, we encourage them to keep going to school until they graduate.”

This year’s UAAP finals was a big test for NU. In Game 1 of the best-of-three series, the Lady Bulldogs were down by 11 at the half and La Salle threatened to snap their win streak. “I reminded the players to just play together, that’s our team motto,” he said. “We’re not a one-man wrecking crew but if we play together as a unit, we’re unbeatable. During the eliminations, we blew out opponents by 20 to 30 points. But in Game 1, maybe it was the TV factor or jitters or we relaxed too much but La Salle played extremely well. I told our players to remember that in the first round, we were down by one at the half to La Salle and in the third period, we went up by 20. I challenged everyone to step up defensively. The idea was to take it possession by possession with one stop then early offense. We beat La Salle twice in the eliminations so there was no reason why we couldn’t do it again.”

NU wound up toppling the Lady Archers twice in the finals, 77-74 and 96-72. Game 1 went down to the wire as Ria Nabalan bailed out the Lady Warriors with two crucial three-pointers down the stretch after missing eight of her previous nine attempts. “We lost six players to graduation and brought in five rookies so we were relatively young,” said Aquino. “Luckily, we had four players who were on the national team that recently won the SEABA title so our core was intact. They were Afril Bernardino, Shelley Gupilan, Jack Animam and Marizze Tongco. Gemma Miranda, who played in the last FIBA Asia tournament, was also with us.” This season, Bernardino was the MVP and Miranda the finals MVP.

Aquino said Bernardino is one of two of the best women’s players he’s ever coached with the other Allana Lim. “Afril’s will to win is incredible,” he said. “Every year, she just keeps improving. Sir Herson wants her to try out for the WNBA. We’re sending a tape of her highlights to WNBA scouts and hopefully, she’ll get drafted.”

A player whom Aquino singled out for her key role in the title run was Gupilan, a Fil-Am. “Shelley was supposed to play for La Salle but wasn’t taken because she got pregnant,” said Aquino. “We were lucky to bring her in. She’s a 5-8 player who can defend 6-4 players. Now that she’s graduating, we want her to join our coaching staff. She’s very smart with sound basics so we know she’ll be a good coach.”

Another major contributor to NU’s cause was 6-4 Rhena Itesi of Congo. “Rhena has blossomed into an intimidating inside player,” said Aquino. “She’s unstoppable close to the basket. We’re seriously considering to naturalize Rhena. We realize for us to be more competitive internationally, we could use a naturalized player. In the US, Ricky Magallanes is helping us locate more Fil-Ams and possibly, a few prospects for naturalization. We’re looking at Americans, Europeans and maybe Australians who are willing to play for Perlas.”

Aquino said his two biggest achievements as a coach were leading the Perlas national team to Level I in FIBA Asia and stringing a 48-0 record for NU with three titles in a row. “We’ve got many more goals to accomplish,” he said. “First, we want our first gold medal in the SEA Games next year. Next, we want to do well in Level I in FIBA Asia so we don’t get relegated back to Level II. And finally, we want more championships for NU. We owe it to management to keep winning, to stay grounded and humble.”