Heading into UAAP Season 88, not many pundits would have expected that the NU Bulldogs would emerge as the team to beat. Most expected the reigning champion UP Fighting Maroons and the reloaded DLSU Green Archers to continue their dominance of the league, while some believed that it was time for the UST Growling Tigers to reemerge as title contenders.

The Bulldogs kicked off the season with three consecutive wins and have not looked back since. Through nine games, they lead the league with a 7-2 record and now enter the home stretch of the UAAP season as the preeminent title favorites. 

What’s particularly encouraging about NU’s run is that they do not rely on just any one player to win their games. Jake Figueroa is indeed this team’s best player from a statistical perspective–he is averaging 15.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, two steals, and 1.2 blocks per game–yet a closer look at how he comes up with these numbers only further proves their egalitarian nature and the value of their team-first approach.

Most of Figueroa’s points come within head coach Jeff Napa’s system, one that seems to have become second nature for him over the course of his five-year UAAP career. The 23-year-old forward is by no means a shot-creator like UST’s Nic Cabanero or Harold Alarcon of the Fighting Maroons, but his familiarity with Napa’s offense has become a superpower in itself. 

These traits of Figueroa hint that he can thrive at the professional level, whether it be in the PBA or abroad. His ability to play within a team’s system, coupled with his elite instincts as a versatile 6’4 forward make him the type of player that any high-level team would appreciate.

The rest of the Bulldogs outside of Figueroa have been just as impressive. 

Pj Palacielo, Paul Francisco, Steve Nash Enriquez, Gelo Santiago, and Jolo Manansala have all had their fair share of moments this UAAP season. These players are all talented in their own right–all are averaging at least six points per game this year–and it is not farfetched to believe that they could be lead players in smaller programs. The team’s Foreign Student Athlete Omar John, who missed all but a few minutes of last season with an injury, has been impressive as well in his return campaign.

Instead of focusing on individual statistics, this current crop of NU players has banded together to form the program’s strongest team since their championship-winning group that won it all in 2014.

The Bulldogs have come a long way, but the road ahead is far from easy. Their two losses this season came against UP—a likely opponent again in the Final Four or even the best-of-three Finals. La Salle has shaken off an early-season slump, though its depleted roster may struggle to match NU’s depth. While the Growling Tigers have slipped in recent weeks, they remain a team to be reckoned with given their veteran pieces.

Teamwork has brought the Bulldogs this far, but if they want to win it all, a hero or two must emerge. Gelo Alolino and Troy Rosario stepped up and became the stars of their 2014 title conquest. This year’s NU team has consistently relied on Figueroa, though they still need at least one of their supporting players to step up, especially when it comes to consistent late game shot-making. 

This year’s Bulldogs are special and if they can keep the ball moving, trust in Napa’s system, and find a reliable closer, they just might find themselves as the UAAP champions once again when the curtains close on UAAP Season 88.