IN A finals series that pitted two teams fighting for their respective spots in history, the team that wanted to keep the winning tradition alive prevailed as the Ateneo Blue Eagles capped off a dominating season with its second championship in two years.
Emphatically defeating the University of the East Red Warriors, 71-58, in the deciding game three of the championship series, this year’s Blue Eagles became only the second Ateneo UAAP basketball team to achieve back-to-back championships last October 8.
The feat was last achieved in 1987 and 1988 with stalwarts Danny Francisco, Olsen Racela, and Jun Reyes (Blue Eagle Jai Reyes’ uncle) leading the team.
Amidst the celebration after game three, former Blue Eagle Francisco said that it was a challenge for this year’s team to win back-to-back.
“They’ve worked hard for it and they’ve achieved it. It’s something that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.”
“In behalf of back to back championship team of ‘87-‘88, we welcome them to the club,” he said.
Game 1: The upperhand
A few days after the country experienced the wrath of typhoon Ondoy, the resumption of the tournament to commence the finals series on October 1 provided some normalcy to an erstwhile tragic week.
Those who were affected among the team were Jai Reyes, Nico de Chavez, Frank Golla and Nico Salva.And despite a number of Blue Eagles being victims of the flood, they rose above the experience to help the team to victory in game one, 78-71.
In fact, aside from Rabeh Al-Hussaini who top-scored with 28 points, Reyes provided the hot shooting hand, scoring 17 points and converting five treys out of six attempts.
Reyes said after the game, “Ganun talaga ang buhay, life goes on. My family and I are even more fortunate than the others [who suffered more because of the flood].”
“I had a job to do and it was good that I was able to help my team win,” he added.
Coach Norman Black also said about the feisty point guard: “Sometimes it takes one guy to get it done. And Jai was able to knock down shots [we needed to win].”
Game 2: The wake-up call
After the game one victory of the Blue Eagles, talks of a sweep of the finals series proliferated days before game two.
In fact, the Ateneo crowd that filled more than half of the Araneta Coliseum was ready to celebrate a championship victory on October 4.
Not to be counted out, however, the Red Warriors pounced on an overconfident Ateneo team, turning the tables around through flawless shooting and tight defense to take game two, 88-68.
With their backs against the wall, UE opened the game with guns a-blazing and continued to dominate all throughout the game as main men Elmer Espiritu, Pari Llagas and Paul Lee scored in double digits.
The Red Warriors’ adjustment to a zone defense also gave the Blue Eagles a hard time to get the ball inside to Al-Hussaini and forced Ateneo to a measly 20.6% shooting from beyond the arc.
Red Warriors Coach Lawrence Chongson said, “What went right was our defense. We went zone, gambled on it, gave them the outside shots, clogged the middle, and finally reduced Rabeh’s output against us [from averaging 28 points to just 18 points this game].”
Former Blue Eagle Chris Tiu pointed out the same thing.
“We were forced to make a lot of three point shots [but] we couldn’t make our three point shots…that’s pretty much the story of the game.”
Game 3: Sweet victory
The surprising loss in game two gave the Blue Eagles a lot to think about while the Warriors revelled in the hopes of finally ending a 24-year title drought.
Sophomore Ryan Buenafe said that they were also caught off guard in game two.
“Masyado kaming confident na mananalo kami nung game two (We were overconfident that we would win game two). When we saw the tapes, we made the necessary adjustments for game three.”
Al-Hussaini also recounted not being able to sleep well because of the loss.
He said, “Ayokong mangyari samin ung nangyari nung 2006 (I don’t want what happened on 2006 to happen to us).”
And with the outcomes of both teams’ seasons depending on one final game, an all-out battle ensued on October 8.
Ateneo raced to a 21-17 first quarter lead anchored on Al-Hussaini’s offensive dominance.
Noticeably different too was the hustle of Buenafe, Kirk Long and Eric Salamat, aggressively driving for lay-ups, going for steals and diving for loose balls—plays that were absent during the two previous games.
More than the offense, however, it was the stifling defense that rendered Llagas irrelevant and gave Lee and Espiritu a hard time getting shots off that spelled the victory for Ateneo.
Coach Black said after the game, “Today we just came out hungry right from the very start. Today we decided that we’ll just go full throttle and see what happens.”
“It’s been a long road guys [and] it’s been tough,” he added, then finally heaved a sigh of relief after giving Ateneo its second championship since he took over as coach in 2005.
To the future
With the team’s cornerstones Reyes, Nonoy Baclao and Finals MVP Al-Hussaini graduating after this season, Coach Black admits that next season would be more challenging.
Although size-wise, the team won’t lose much, what they’ll miss will be talent and experience.
He said, “I won’t predict like I did last year that we would be better this year compared to last year; I’m not even sure about that. But we’ll be good next year. We’ll be a final four contender.”
Francisco adds, “It’s really a cycle of losing players and getting new ones…what’s important for us is we really know how to maximize the potentials of each player.”
Despite next season looking to be more challenging, Buenafe said, “Tatlo pa (Three [championships] more)!”
