Pagdulagan rises to the occasion as Lady Bulldogs complete redemption bid

MANILA, Philippines -- With everything on the line and with the pressure at its highest, first-year cager Cielo Pagdulagan shone the brightest for the National University Lady Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball finals.

Pagdulagan, who was crowned Rookie of the Year a few days ago, left it all on the floor in the final game of her first year.

She finished with 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Lady Bulldogs’ 78-73 title clincher against the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigresses the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.

Pagdulagan's consistently excellent performances in the series were enough to give her the Finals Most Valuable Player award for NU, which regained the women’s basketball gold this year after last season’s defeat against UST.

After the game, Pagdulagan admitted that she had jitters during the first quarter, especially with the Tigresses going up early. But she said her seniors’ positivity ultimately rubbed off on her, which gave her a much-needed confidence boost in the high-pressure contest.

“Noong first quarter talagang medyo kinakabahan ako. Kasi nga lumamang ang UST sa amin, ganun. Naisip ko naman po na e bakit ako kakabahan, pare-parehas kaming may talent,” she told reporters.

“Talagang nagtiwala lang ako sa mga teammate ko, lalo na sa mga senior namin, talagang grabe ang pag-cheer up nila sa amin pag nakikita nilang napanghihinaan kami,” she added.

She looked back on Game 2, when she was repeatedly attacked by UST's Brigette Santos, who finished with 27 points in that do-or-die game for the Lady Bulldogs.

And that experience readied her in Game 3, she bared.

“Siguro naisip ko lang ang laging sinasabi sa akin ng mga senior, na kailangan kong mag-step up and as a rookie, kailangan may pride ako na hindi porke’t rookie ako, pwede na akong ganito-ganitohin.”

And while the pressure of playing in a Game 3, where the lights are at their brightest, was there, her experience playing for an NU squad that is trying to get back on top prepared her for the biggest match of her young career.

“Siyempre po, meron. Pero yung pressure talagang kinakain ko lang. Sabi ko sa sarili ko na everything happens for a reason. Kaya ako nandito sa NU kasi alam kong matutulungan ko yung mga ates ko,” she said.

With the game tied at 38 at the half, Pagdulagan scored 10 points in the third quarter, which saw the Lady Bulldogs break the game wide open.

This gave NU the much-needed separation that kept the Tigresses at bay despite them clawing back in the fourth quarter.

“Inisip ko lang is binigay ko lang yung best ko. Talagang binigay ko yung best ko. Buong lakas ko, binigay ko, lahat ng kaya kong ibigay sa team talagang binigay ko na kasi last game na. Gusto kong umalis yung mga senior namin ng champion kami and hindi nila makakalimutan yung memory na ito,” the guard stressed.

Through three games in the championship series, Pagdulagan averaged 15.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.

“Para sa akin, I’m happy pero sabi ko, bonus lang ang mga individual awards na yan dahil ang goal namin, ang goal ko, is matulungan yung mga ate ko na makuha yung championship.”