Rookie jitters are thrown out the window in crunch time for presumptive UAAP Season 87 Rookie of the Year Cielo Pagdulagan in Game 1 of the NU-UST Finals rematch.
The NU Lady Bulldogs have no shortage of veterans on their stacked team, with the likes of Camille Clarin, Karl Ann Pingol, Angel Surada, and Kristine Cayabyab on the roster.
But in the final minute of NU’s high-stakes matchup against UST in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 87 women's basketball Finals, it was none of those names that had the rock in their hands. Rather, it was presumptive Rookie of the Year winner Cielo Pagdulagan who ended up with the ball – and the score.
After fighting back from 14 points down, NU was within one, 70-71, in the final minute of the highly-competitive affair.
On the drive, Pingol found the first-year player waiting and passed the ball en route to the go-ahead basket – which ended up being the game-winner for the Lady Bulldogs as well to escape the claws of the Tigresses, 72-71.
[RELATED: NU completes comeback from 14 down to take Game 1 of UAAP women's Finals over UST]
Despite Cielo's relative inexperience, NU skipper Camille Clarin said that it was pertinent that NU handed that opportunity for Pagdulagan to make – or miss – whichever came. Because as the next star expected to rise from Jhocson, it was a shot she needed to take.
“You could tell Cielo was nervous, even the practices leading up to it. Cielo is a very fast-paced player, and sometimes that leaks into your brain. Sometimes she's just moving at too fast of a pace. We just told her to slow down. We're here for you. When you need to turn it on, turn it on,” Clarin told One Sports after the game.
“And that's what happened in that last play. She was 4-for-13. She took the most attempts on our team. Do we care? No. We love that. We want her to get that confidence because she's going to be that player for us, and she will [be].”
Clarin herself was a hero for NU in Game 1, doing her work on the defensive end as she pulled out a stop on UST’s Kent Pastrana in the dying seconds of the match.
But putting them in the winning position was all Pagdulagan’s effort, which for Clarin was impressive in of itself. Despite struggling in a number of ways heading into her first Finals with the Lady Bulldogs, she was able to stay steady and earn the respect of her senior.
“I think a lot of people focus on the stats, but it's those one or two possessions where she saved us in that game. It's all that matters. And for a rookie to do it, I couldn't have done it. I couldn't have done it. So kudos to Cielo. I'm so proud to be her captain,” said Clarin.
Pagdulagan finished with nine points, and five rebounds in the victory. Clarin had 12 points, four boards, two assists, and two steals.
Pingol was the top scorer with 18 markers.
NU hopes to close out its redemption run in Season 87 when the Lady Bulldogs attempt to dethrone the defending champion Tigresses in Game 2 slated on Wednesday, December 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.