Trademark pout. Nico Salva drives hard to the basket against UE. Photo by Mario T. Dagdag

After mammoth additions and rigorous offseason training, both the Blue and Lady Eagles have improved on last season’s standings.

The men’s team has had a near-perfect season, playing arguably their best basketball without even peaking, while their female counterparts have fallen just short of an underdog’s chance to sneak into the final four.

Roll Out the Victory

There’s a reason why the Blue Babble Battalion has played “Roll Out the Victory” more times this year than any of the last five, having booked a place in the UAAP finals for the fourth consecutive year, the Blue Eagles have been virtually unstoppable—save for a blowout loss to Adamson.

Unselfish play, conscious efforts on defense and the tutelage of a seasoned coaching staff have typified the Ateneo brand of basketball that has dominated the UAAP one game at a time.

After being salient in the first round of games, the bench experienced a rejuvenation of sorts, with a convalescent Justin Chua regaining his offensive verve from last season and fellow southpaw Tonino Gonzaga still the physical embodiment of “Get that ball.” It is worth noting that the latter has developed reliable range—a pleasant addition to the Eagle arsenal, as it injects timely scores at times of drought.

Following their 13th straight victory over the stumbling NU Bulldogs, Coach Norman Black addressed questions about the possible, historic sweep for the first time. However, Leo Austria and the Adamson Falcons had other things in mind, crushing Ateneo, 62-46, sending Blue Eagles fans into droves of shock and doubt.

Since they failed to complete the elusive sweep, gone are the approximately two and a half weeks of rest, an outright ticket to the finals and a thrice-to-beat advantage.

Still, the challenge for this championship-caliber team is wholly mental; since they ironically held smaller leads over teams they were expected to crush. Tommy Manotoc of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Sports put it perfectly, “The only team that can truly beat Ateneo is Ateneo.”

Right now, the Blue and White faithful can only hope that Coach Black and Co. are keeping this team in tip-top, prizefighting shape whilst they take a longer route into the finals.

Playing for keeps

Unlike the stellar season their male counterparts are experiencing, the Lady Eagles’ performance in the second round dipped, following a relatively okay first seven games.

Once again, the inexperience that plagued them during the first round reared its ugly head. Performances against some teams the Lady Eagles fared well against previously disappointed the second time around, but the same cannot be said vice versa.

After being blown out by the FEU Lady Tamaraws, the Lady Eagles went up against the UE Amazons, a team they dominated on the last day of the first round. In what looked to be an easy victory for the Blue and White, the game went down to the wire—interestingly enough, for the first time this season. Luckily, Ateneo managed to pull off a squeaker of a win.

Their following game was disastrous, as the UST Tigresses came from behind and beat the Lady Eagles after the latter led most of the game. Archrivals DLSU were up next, and though Coach Chris Quimpo’s crew dispatched their Taft-based adversaries easily the first time around, the game would be another close one. Unfortunately, Ateneo’s luck ran out as the Lady Archers took the win. Their last two wins were easy, as they comfortably saw off NU and UP.

Similar to the first round, whenever the team plays well as one unit, good results are guaranteed, and the same could be said the other way around. With no real go-to player, the Lady Eagles depend on each other to perform. All in all, fluctuating performances can no doubt be attributed to their lack of experience.

The Lady Eagles now stand at 7-6 and are currently waiting in the wings, as their final four aspirations lie in the hands of the Adamson Lady Falcons, who are in fourth place and two games above Ateneo. Coincidentally, the Lady Eagles will battle the San Marcelino-based squad in their last round robin game this season.

“Our main goal is to make the final four,” said Quimpo, after their win against NU. Unfortunately, Adamson did to the Lady Eagles what they did to their male equivalents. With a 49-42 final day victory, the Lady Falcons shut out all hopes of an Ateneo team in the Women’s Division postseason.

First step. Kiefer Ravena shakes off a defender en route to the hole.