NU Bulldogs basketball

The NU Bulldogs are the collegiate men's basketball team of the National University (NU), which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere sports league in the country.

History
In the early years of the UAAP, the NU Bulldogs were a competitive team in the league, winning a title in 1954. The Bulldogs were coached by Skip Guinto, who was approached by the Jhocsons, owners of NU, to coach their team. The Bulldogs relied on Antonio Villamor to defeat the FEU Tamaraws to win their first title.

The Bulldogs then produced players such as Narciso Bernardo and Jun Papa, but never came close to a repeat Finals appearance, until Reynaldo Sigua was acquired by NU. Sigua led the Bulldogs to a Finals appearance in 1970 against the UE Red Warriors. The Red Warriors prevailed, winning their sixth consecutive UAAP title.

By the 1980s, however, NU was perennially in the bottom ranking of the team standings. In the late 1990s, they improved their ranking by moving up to the middle of the team standings with now PBA stars Danny Ildefonso and Lordy Tugade in their team roster, but still failed to make it to the Final Four.

In the last quarter of year 2008, the family of Henry Sy of SM Prime Holdings acquired majority ownership of the National University. Aside from improving school facilities, the new management has included in their corporate plan the improvement of NU's sports programs. After ten years, the National U Bulldogs made it again to the UAAP Final Four in 2012.

UAAP Season 77
At the start of UAAP Season 77, the NU Bulldogs were predicted to lose some ground in the standings due to the losses of key players like former UAAP MVP Ray Parks and foreign student athlete Emmanuel Mbe, but was still expected to compete due to the emergence of players like Troy Rosario, Gelo Alolino and Glenn Khobuntin.

In the 2nd round of the tournament, the Bulldogs fell to the 4th spot in the standings. tied with the UE Red Warriors. They faced UE again in a knockout game for the 4th seed, which they won 51–49. They then defeated the 1st seed Ateneo Blue Eagles twice in the Final Four tournament (as Ateneo had a twice-to-beat advantage, due to their high seed), making them the 2nd number 4 seeded team in UAAP history to defeat a number 1 seeded team, as well as their first trip to the UAAP Finals since 1970.

In the UAAP Season 77 Finals, the Bulldogs faced the FEU Tamaraws in three games, where they finally clinched the championship after winning Game 3, 75–59. This marked the NU Bulldogs' first UAAP Men's basketball championship win in 60 years.

Roster
The NU Bulldogs Basketball Team

Season-by-season records
Until 1997, the UAAP primarily ranked the teams by tournament points using FIBA's method. Starting in 1998, the UAAP primarily ranked by winning percentage. There's no difference in ranking once all games were played, but in the middle of the season, rankings made by these two methods may differ.

Head coaches

 * c. 1954: Skip Guinto
 * 2001–02: Manny Dandan
 * 2003–04: Rico Perez
 * 2005–09: Manny Dandan
 * 2010: Eric Gonzales
 * 2011–16: Eric Altamirano
 * 2017–19: Jamike Jarin
 * 2020: Goldwin Monteverde
 * 2021–present: Jeff Napa

Notable players

 * Antonio Villamor
 * 🇺🇸 Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
 * Cris Bolado
 * Dennice Villamor
 * Froilan Baguion
 * Danny Ildefonso
 * Gelo Alolino
 * Glenn Khobuntin
 * Jeff Napa
 * Jewel Ponferada
 * Jun Papa
 * Lordy Tugade
 * Marion Magat
 * 🇯🇵 Matthew Aquino
 * Narciso Bernardo
 * Reden Celda
 * Robby Celiz
 * 🇺🇸 Troy Rike
 * Troy Rosario