The National University Bulldogs will have enough time to recover from injuries sustained by numerous players over the past two weeks in the 86th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.
The long weekend that featured the National Barangay Elections, All Saints’ Day and All Souls Day has given the Bulldogs a chance to get a good game plan when they meet the defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We’ll see. Hindi rason ‘yung mga nawala sa team ko. Kaya ayokong mag-excuse tungkol dito,” said Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Napa after the Green Archers beat them, 88-78, last Saturday.
In all, five players were not well as Steve Nash Enriquez needed to undergo an operation for a dislocated jaw from NU’s victory over UE last Wednesday.
Enriquez was among three Bulldogs injured in that game, aside from Jolo Manansala (groin) and rookie Reinhard Jumamoy (undisclosed discomfort).
On the other hand, John Galinato is recovering from the flu and Kenshin Padrones is seeking to bounce back from a cheek fracture.
Against the Green Archers, Napa believes that some of the members did not step up in his players’ absences and this needs to be addressed.
“Yung effort, iyun ang questionable sa game namin ngayon. Iyun ang ia-address namin ngayon, coming into Monday’s practice,” said Napa.
Enriquez, who averages 7.5 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.1 rebounds after eight games, was accidentally hit by the elbow of University of the East’s Josh Alcantara during their game.
Meanwhile, NU will try to post its eighth win in 10 games when they face Blue Eagles (4-5).
The Green Archers, who lost in overtime to the Bulldogs in the first round, 80-77, improved to a 6-3 record, strengthening their hold on third spot.