After breezing through the FilOil Flying V Premier Cup last summer, the Blue Eagles have cruised past the competition, opening Season 74 with nine consecutive wins, bannered by UAAP neophytes Kiefer Ravena and Greg Slaughter. Steered by Coach Norman Black and his trademark defensive mentality, the Blue Crew has lived up to expectations and has satisfied each and every Ateneo fan.

The arrival of Slaughter and Ravena has brought tides of change to Ateneo’s system offensively and defensively. Anchored by Slaughter, the Blue Eagle defense has been as potent as ever. Despite his sluggish demeanor and lanky frame, his length assures his teammates that the rim is well protected. This allows guards like Emman Monfort and Ravena the luxury of gambling on steals, the pair currently averages a shade over three steals a game between them.

Last year, the offense relied heavily on Black’s guards—an offensive scheme which saw a drastic change after pegging Slaughter at the middle. The crowd might still be waiting for a 20 and 10 a night from the Ateneo’s premier big man, but he has been useful in other respects as well, drawing double teams and acting as decoy for the Ateneo’s wing players. The beauty of this system allows different offensive options to step up.

With opposing teams’ defenders crowding Slaughter, “The Phenom” uses the offensive leverage to exercise his triple-threat game. If defenders don’t bite, third option Nico Salva has stepped up with remarkable consistency, scoring on a  post moves or his vastly improved mid range jumper. When it comes to fast break points, the crowd need not worry since Monfort and Kirk Long, who share eight years of experience between them, serve as insurance.

The sixth man, however, has been the fly on the ointment. Tonino Gonzaga has been the sole bright spot in an otherwise fickle bench performance. Justin Chua, who averaged 8.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG last year, has lost the sweet touch on his jumper after a purported elbow injury. Meanwhile, Frank Golla provides quality cover for defense, but seems to have a case of butterfingers on offense.

The streaky Juami Tiongson is a potent shooter who can sink everything in one game and fire blanks in another. Once heralded as the second coming of Nonoy Baclao, JP Erram has yet to break out of his shell. Oping Sumalinog provides the team with depth and experience at the wing position, but has offered just that in eight full games. Same for Bacon Austria, who, despite increasing his scoring average from 1.6 to 2.1 this season, commits too many untimely turnovers. The rest of the bench has been human victory cigars, strutting their stuff in the game’s dying minutes.

Throw in a spoiled crowd that has been used to winning for three years straight, the Ateneo hoi polloi seems bored, looking forward to another playoff performance and possibly another bonfire mixer. Along with the Blue Babble Battalion, the throng of Ateneo faithful needs an invigoration of sorts in case the team falters in crucial stretches.

The outlook is bright for this nascent Blue Eagle team, which will eventually get better as the season progresses. Slaughter will only continue to get comfortable in Black’s system, “The Phenom” shows a lot of promise at 18 years old, and the bench knows its deficiencies. This is a team too talented to need a chip in the shoulder or a loss from UP to awaken.

So far, so good for the Blue Eagles; this, however, is just the first round. With Ateneo on their crosshairs, all other teams are itching to shoot the Eagles down. As Austria said, “If 3 is history, then 4 is still a mystery.”