MANILA, Philippines — Jeff Napa did not mince his words after his NU Bulldogs fell flat to end the first round, absorbing a 44-47 loss to the erstwhile reeling FEU Tamaraws at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday.
The Bulldogs had a chance to finish the first round atop the standings had they won the game — owing to their victory over league leaders UP — but they went down to third not only behind UP but also Ateneo.
Ateneo had beaten NU in their first round meeting, 77-60.
Now on a low note after being the hottest team in the league, Napa called out himself and his players for how they responded against the Tams — who were 1-5 prior to their Sunday clash.
"We f---ed up. Simple as that," Napa said after the loss.
"I expected kasi they will come out strong, give credit to FEU. We played talaga sa gusto naming mangyari pero a loss is a loss. It's my fault," he added.
Still, at 5-2, Napa said there is still time to better themselves and hopefully clinch their slot into the Final Four and possibly, the finals.
"At least, we have to grow coming into the second round. Especially doon sa mga desisyon na kailangan naming gawan ng paraan," Napa said.
Asked on if the low scoring loss was a wake up to the Bulldogs, the tactician said he'd rather look at it as something different — a view which he shared with his boyds.
"Para sa akin, challenge e. Yun lang ang sinabi ko sakanila, di ko na sinabi sa kanila na wake up call. Chinallenge ko pa rin sila na if they want to be a big-time player, they have to make sure that they'd commit as one, not I. Yun ang kailangan," said Napa.
Against FEU, Napa lamented that they had let their opponents dictate the pace rather than playing their own game.
"This game kasi, we let FEU dictate whatever ang ginagawa sa amin kasi eh. Someone f---ed up. So that's why [they] got the W. So ayun ang challenge ko sa kanila sa second round, I think UP pa ang [unang] kalaban namin eh," said Napa.
"So yung uphill climb, kasi yun ang sinasabi ko sa kanila, if we want to climb up to the top or to the peak, doon sa Mt. Everest na yun, kung gusto nila maging big-time player, they have to commit maging two-way player. Kung hindi magiging two-way player, it's hard for us. Kumbaga, it's hard for them to be recognized as one of the big boys."