A NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS. The traditional bonfire held last October celebrated the titles of the men’s basketball team, women’s badminton team, men’s and juniors’ swimming team that earned big points for Team Ateneo in the UAAP General Championship. Photo by Christie K. Lim.
HALFWAY THROUGH Season 75, Team Ateneo stands at fourth overall with a total of 107 points in the general championship tally of the UAAP.
In a surprising turn of events, De La Salle University finally takes over the top spot with an eight-point lead at 152 points, threatening the current 14-title streak of second placer University of Santo Tomas (UST), which has 144 points.
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines (UP) stands over the Blue and White by one point, 108 points, at third place.
Recapping the first semester
Ateneo has shown stellar performances in bagging the titles for men’s basketball, women’s badminton and men’s swimming, hauling in a total of 45 points. However, the Blue and White fell short for the rest of UAAP’s first semester sports.
The rest of Ateneo’s score came from the first runner-up finishes of men’s badminton and women’s swimming, which contributed 24 points, while the fourth place finishes of women’s basketball and men’s judo contributed only 16 points. The rest of the Ateneo teams finished in the lower ranks.
Emmanuel Fernandez, University Athletics Office Assistant Director for Operations, says that the goal for the transition from the first to the second semester of UAAP sports is to stay strong. “That’s our focus. All our performing teams should maintain that standard,” said Fernandez.
While wins by the Blue Eagles, Lady Shuttlers and Blue Tankers were anticipated, there were some whose losses—or mere misses—were unforeseen. For one, the Lady Beach Spikers were set to meet high expectations from last year’s finish. However, they ended up with only one win in a controversial and frustrating season.
According to Borgy Gavina, one of the student managers of the Ateneo Volleyball Team, their games were defaulted for an alleged “illegal substitution” as they had to replace player Bea Tan when she fell ill.
In a previous article published in The GUIDON Sports Online last September 2, UAAP officials nullified the Lady Beach Spikers’ games against Far Eastern University and UP as they did not have a complete lineup due to the sickness of Tan. The controversy, which exploded on Twitter, was not followed up or addressed by the UAAP Board or the Ateneo.
Fernandez also mentioned how a two-peat win for the Blue Shuttlers was anticipated, but they lost the crown to National University (NU).
The victories of the Ateneo Tankers were expected and applauded triumphs. While the men’s team clinched their first championship, the women’s team finished first runner-up behind the UP Lady Tankers, who had a 242-point lead that won them the championship for the women’s division.
La Salle overtakes UST
The change in the standings between La Salle and UST doesn’t come as a huge surprise. While UST has been ruling the UAAP general championship with a total of 53 titles from the juniors and seniors division, La Salle has been building a strong program which Fernandez pointed out could reach its peak this season.
Meanwhile, Ateneo employs the strategy of recruiting the best students from private schools to hopefully yield titles. Fernandez, however, explained that what the Archers have over the Eagles is all a function of population. “They have a larger number of students—meaning, a deeper pool of talents to pull recruits out from”
Additionally, Ateneo athletes have the word “students” put before “athlete” in emphasis, as they have to maintain a good academic standing to remain in the team.
Nevertheless, a higher rank was initially expected from Ateneo. With the advent of promising second semester teams, however, the Eagles hope to still fly up the UAAP rankings.
Round two
Aside from being favorites to win it all this year, the Blue Batters are heavily motivated by their one-run loss against NU in the Season 74 baseball finals. The team has been preparing with regular conditioning and fielding and is equipped with a rich batch of recruits. They also attended a training camp in Taichung, Taiwan this October. For the women, they hope to develop a new chemistry as they have a very young roster.
The Lady Spikers are put in the same position as the Blue Batters as they were able to reach the finals last year, but eventually bowed to back-to-back champs La Salle Lady Spikers. When asked what to expect from the Lady Spikers this season, veteran Jem Ferrer replied, “This season? Simple: finals!”
There are also high chances for the Blue Fencers as the recruits for the fencing team this year are extremely promising due to their experience. “This will be the strongest team we have had in three years; we have a pretty good lineup this year,” said Benjamin Joseph Afuang, College Athletics Office Coordinator.
On the other hand, hopes for both the men’s and women’s football teams to land in the top three at the end of this year are also high.
The Blue and Lady Booters both performed well during the Unigames and are expectant that this will reflect upon their performance this coming season. Both teams boast prized recruits and a solid core of veterans to lead them on the Moro Lorenzo Football Field, which will be ready in time for the start of the season this December.
“This year, everything is based on speed, power and endurance,” said Blue Booter veteran and midfielder Mikko Mabanag. He added that the team has a stronger bond this year and that there is no intimidation, only a brotherhood between the seniors and the rookies.
“It’s going to be exciting. We have very competitive teams lined up and the expectations are high for a lot of them,” said Afuang. “Let us all continue to support our athletes as they battle for the gold this season. Let us see if our athletes can bring back a long-anticipated second semester sweep to boost our standing in the overall championship.”
Ateneo has yet to taste its first title in the seniors division of the UAAP general championship, although it achieved a two-peat in the juniors division from 2000 to 2002. It is definitely going to be one big fight for the Hail Mary Squad in what is left of the 75th season of the UAAP.
