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| For Patrick Aquino, NU is on 'four-peat mode', reducing their early scare to the season into mere memory. Michael Joseph Romero/Dugout Philippines |
QUEZON CITY -- Forget about their season opener.
That's what NU head coach Patrick Aquino summarized after their Game 1 mauling of UE Wednesday afternoon to inch closer to their fourth consecutive UAAP Women's diadem at the Big Dome.
After the Lady Bulldogs muscled their way to their 63rd straight win with a 28 point rout of the Lady Warriors to open the Finals, Aquino credits the entire team for a job well done as they are just a win away to their fourth straight title on Sunday morning.
"It's a good win. I'm just happy for the girls," he said minutes after NU drew first blood in the championship series.
The 89-61 win was a stark contrast to their first encounter against the same UE side that took them to overtime on opening day.
"Yung first game was jitters for everybody," he added, noting that moving on without key cogs Gemma Miranda and Afril Bernardino was hard.
But since eking out that close shave, NU became unstoppable in the next fourteen games, winning it by as much as 54 points during that stretch, with Ateneo became the only side to gave the Lady Bulldogs the toughest test during the second round.
And the key to that? Their collective responsibility of his fourteen Lady Bulldogs, as they take turns in leading the way for them every time.
"They work together as a team. And I'm proud of them that each game, merong lumalabas na player na nagte-takeover as a leader," Aquino said, citing the emergence of Trixie Antiquiera's shooting once again as an example.
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