THE National University (NU) Bulldogs are the 2022 Filoil champions after defeating the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, 56-46. The Bulldogs took their second title in the tournament (and first after that 2014 championship back when they had Ray Parks, Troy Rosario and Jean Mbe).
They are in my opinion, the first team in the tournament coming from left field to win the title. For sure, basketball analysts would have expected the University of the Philippines (UP) or even La Salle to win it all, but NU and FEU put on some pretty impressive performances.
What makes NU’s feat even more impressive is they did it without the lofty expectations of others, perhaps, only themselves. And they swept their way all to the finals, again another incredible feat.
While of course, a summer tournament trophy is different from the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) hardware, it is nevertheless a stirring triumph.
The title run saw many heroes from John Lloyd Clemente to Nash Enriquez to John Galinato and to new Senegalese center, Omar John, among others, I think this really says something about NU’s coach, Jeff Napa.
Napa won three titles with the NU Bullpups and led the Letran Knights to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four in his last year with the team. He knows how to build title teams and that in my opinion, is crucial because it is easier to get people to listen to you when you have won and continue to achieve and win.
And last UAAP Season 84, he took NU to sixth spot with a 6-8 record despite losing Dave Ildefonso to Ateneo and mostly playing all-Filipino (because of the sub-par game of Issa Gaye).
He played teams like Ateneo, La Salle, and UP very tough and his players remained competitive up to the final minutes of the game. I saw Napa play for NU and he was a noted gunner for the late Sonny Paguia. When I saw him next, he was an assistant to Manny Dandan with NU then with Eric Altamirano and Jamike Jarin.
So you can bet this title means something to Napa. He is the player who returned home to lead his team to glory. It validates his being named head coach.
He saw the losing and winning years of NU both as a player and as a coach. That’s a lot of years learning from some really good and champion coaches while going through some humbling lows and exhilarating highs.
It would be easy to say that when he was winning in the high school level, NU had the resources to recruit. Granted, but that doesn’t mean you are going to win it all.
I believe that he is cut in the mold of noted basketball coaches Sonny Jaworksi and a Yeng Guiao, men who exact and draw from squads with lesser talent and lead them to glory. Why do I mention that?
If Napa can continue to lead his teams to victory, this could lead to the top seat of a Philippine Basketball Association club (he is already an assistant over at NorthPort Batang Pier since 2019). That would be interesting to watch.