MANILA, Philippines - Who said National U and Far Eastern U couldn’t bring in the crowd?
The Bulldogs and the Tams proved they were more than capable of delivering a huge turnout in the UAAP Season 77 finals. In fact, much to the surprise of many doubters, the two schools set record numbers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that even surpassed the best-attended Ateneo-La Salle or Ginebra-San Mig Coffee games.
After filling the MOA Arena with 17,000 fans in the series’ opener, NU and FEU lured 24,896 for Game Two at the Big Dome to surpass by 13 the previous mark in the Kings-Mixers deciding game in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup semis. They later breached the 25k mark in the winner-take-all, drawing 25,138.
“I’m really surprised but I think it’s really good for the league. Dalawang teams lang yan and napuno nila ang coliseum. Imagine dalawang teams lang yan then nag-25,000 pa (The two teams filled up the coliseum and even brought in 25,000). It’s really an achievement for both schools and the league,” said coach Eric Altamirano of the winning National U.
Altamirano was amazed that NU, a school with just 6,000 students, could take part in a record-smashing attendance.
“Look at NU, it’s really a small school. We’re like a David versus Goliaths. Lahat ng schools ang lalaki but pinakita ng NU community na kahit maliit lang ang school (even if NU is comparatively smaller than the other schools), they fully supported us this year so parang giants din kami ngayon (we felt like giants anyhow) how we’re able to at least equal the support of FEU,” he said.
The support extended beyond NU’s campus, shared Gelo Alolino.
“Talagang outside Bustillos, Sampaloc, once nakita nila kami, talagang grabe ang suporta nila sa amin. Naka-boost sa amin yung support nila kasi before wala halos (Even in the Bustillos area, we felt the support of everyone we encounter. It’s a big boost because before, we didn’t have as much),” said Alolino.