National University – which makes its first trip in the finals for the first time since 1970 – naturally felt the nerves of having zero experience in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) title round series.

This disadvantage, plus the deadly combination of excitement and nervousness of playing for the gold in front of a raucous crowd at their “homecourt” Mall of Asia Arena unfortunately played as the reason for NU’s inability to focus on their free throws.

Head Coach Eric Altamirano sighed at the sight of their stat sheet that read a subpar 48 percent for the match, which could have given them a huge advantage.

“To sum it all up, the missed free throws did us in. We missed 16 free throws. Yun talaga e. We have to address that,” said fourth-year mentor Altamirano. “More of that was mental fatigue.”

“I told the boys that their emotions got in the way. Normally, when I see them shoot their free throws, they’re focused, very relaxed, and they were not expending a lot of energy. Kanina, I felt they weren’t doing that, even Gelo [Alolino],” he added.

Alfred Aroga and Gelo Alolino, who were both sent on to the line during the crucial stretch where they raced from 13-points down late in the third, missed three freebies in the last two minutes that could have tied the contest and change the complexion of the match.

Now, the Bulldogs – with a three-game losing streak against FEU hanging on their heads – will have to regroup in time for Game 2, in which former NU legends such as Danny Ildefonso and Bobby Ray Parks are more than welcome to aid their team’s cause to win their first title since 1954.

“He [Danny Ildefonso] was supposed to be at practice yesterday [Friday], but he wasn’t able to catch up due to traffic. Of course, he’s more than welcome to give an inspirational message or tips to the team,” he added.