THE MOMENT the final buzzer sounded, the Blue Eagles swept aside all inhibitions and stormed the court as confetti rained from above. The last of the lofty goals set at the start of the season could finally be checked off the list—Final Four twice to beat, Finals, and the championship.
What looks like a simple list is much more than that to this Blue Eagle team. Capturing the title is exoneration from the shadow of the Baclao-Husseini led back-to-back titles, from the media pundits claiming that their reign atop the UAAP was over, and from the pressures of capturing the first UAAP three-peat in school history.
Now seven Blue Eagles; Justin Chua, Tonino Gonzaga, Ryan Buenafe, Nico Salva, Kirk Long, Bacon Austria and Eric Salamat, make up the school’s shortlist of winningest players.
“We’ve done it with a different group of guys, it’s been a little tougher this time around [but] we defended the crown again so it’s really special to me,” Long said.
Tough road
The road to the third championship has definitely been the most difficult; this year’s 10-4 win-loss card in the eliminations round is nothing compared to their 13-1 records garnered in the last two championships.
Championships, however, are not won in the elimination round, but by the team playing their best basketball at the right time—spoken from years of professional playing and coaching experience, such words by Ateneo head Coach Norman Black stuck with the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Having secured the twice to beat advantage in the semi-finals, brushing aside the Adamson Falcons and sweeping the FEU Tamaraws in convincing fashion, there is no contest that the Blue Eagles were the ones peaking at the right time.
Suffering through a laborious 2-2 start to the season, many pundits already wrote off the Blue Eagle’s offense. Without a go to scorer, very few believed that the back-to-back champs would be able to score in the post season.
However, with Coach Norman’s mandate to run the ball at every opportunity, the Blue Eagles showed that they could bypass the most stringent of defenses, lighting up the Adamson Falcons for 68 points while blasting the Tamaraws for 72 in Game One.
Having no primary scorer allowed for some offensive freedom—in the 17 games played, they have had five different players lead the team in scoring.
“I don’t know who it will be on any given night. But it’s been great having so many guys who can step up,” the Ateneo coach said.
Like the two championships before it, the Blue Eagles’ success can be attributed to the discipline shown on the defensive end of the court. Having once again led the league in opponents’ points allowed during the regular season, the Ateneo side showed a defensive veracity that held the Adamson Falcons to 55 points and the high powered Tamaraw offense to a Finals average of 55.2 points—17 points below their elimination round average.
Team effort
The biggest question facing these Blue Eagles was whether they would be able to replace the vacuum of talent left behind. Without a deep recruitment class to draw from, they would have to find this talent internally.
San Beda product Arthur Dela Cruz was a surprise contributor, carving himself a spot on the rotation as an energy player off the bench finishing second only to FEU’s Terrence Romeo for the Rookie of the Year Award.
Kirk Long was hailed as a determined defender but the expansion of his offensive game afforded the Blue Eagles consistency. Many questioned the talents of Justin Chua but on several nights, it was Chua who carried the Eagles, scoring off feeds, post moves or with a silky smooth mid range jumper.
But the biggest leap forward came from the diminutive spark plug Emman Monfort. Monfort wreaked havoc on opposing defenses, not afraid to drive to the hole among the giants, while remaining one of the best three point shooters in the league. Having been lauded for being a source of instant offense in Season 72, Monfort added a gritty defensive game, harassing FEU star guard RR Garcia to three of his worst outings of the season. Monfort captured the Most Improved Player award, the only individual accolade won by a Blue Eagle during the elimination rounds.
Ryan Buenafe has long been the wildcard in the Blue Eagle rotation. With his unmatched court vision, Buenafe has been touted as one of the best talents in the league, but his conditioning issues as well as questions about his commitment to his game, has led him to fall short of the expectations put on him when he captured the Season 71 Rookie of the Year award. But when Ateneo needed someone to deliver, it was Buenafe who turned in a career performance, dominating Game 2 with a 23 point masterpiece and put away the Tamaraws with a clutch three-pointer in the closing seconds of the game, capturing a deserved Final’s MVP award.
Back-to-back-to-back
A three-peat is a historical achievement for the Blue Eagles, having failed to capture the elusive third straight title thrice in the NCAA and once in the UAAP. It was made all the sweeter by having the Blue Eaglets match the feat in the juniors division giving Ateneo a double three-peat.
Victory becoming the norm in Katipunan and championship thirst quickly becoming insatiable, many are already looking forward to Season 74, and a shot at a fourth consecutive title. With an influx of talent expected to bolster the Hail Mary squad, namely the seven-foot Smart Gilas mainstay Greg Slaughter and Blue Eaglet superstar Kiefer Ravena, the Blue Eagles look to be favorites once again. But with the embers of the bonfire cooling, it is important to give credit to Coach Norman Black and his Eagles. Carpe Diem.
