exactly six years ago, the ateneo blue eagles lost to the ust growling tigers in game 3 of the finals, which gave the espana-based squad the men's basketball championship in uaap season 69. of course, the pain of 2006 might still linger for long-time fans of the blue eagles, myself included. despite the recent success of the blue eagles in the past four championship runs, i still feel that 2006 is a matter to be avenged as the finals for season 75 begins in 5 days.
here is part of a blog post i made six years ago (no editing, so typos and grammatical errors might still be flying around it), breaking down that fateful game on that very riveting season, which could have been ateneo's first championship since 2002.
ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE
(photo taken from fabilioh.com)
yesterday,
though it was rather uneventful that our school failed to secure its
fourth seniors men's title (yes, it should just have been only the
fourth for ateneo), will definitely go down the drain as one of the
"should have been" moments of school history, and even perhaps my own
life. yes, it was marked by a lot of crazed up moments that could have
delivered clinchers all throughout. the game was tight, with no team
leading more than double digits (if i'm not mistaken, UST led by 7 at
one point, while ateneo's largest lead was 5), plenty of lead changes,
and a lot of drama in a tightly contested game. it was rather fortunate
that allan evangelista and jervy cruz fouled out of the game, which
could have made things easier for the blue eagles - if they didn't
really run out of luck in the end game. the tigers were big and mean,
literally, as the eagles were outrebounded and outmatched by their
height and "gulang" advantage.
all the while, we thought that it was a won game in the dying minutes
with jc burying that trey that gave them a five point cushion. well,
almost but not quite. the tigers gave that last ditch effort that sent
the game into overtime. all the while, i had this premonition that when
the game goes to overtime, the eagles are doomed. chris was out due to
foul trouble, the big men were ganged up inside, jc was placed in
handcuffs, and the rest had to ride from the bench all throughout. in
the midst of these odds, macky simply brought the team on his back.
hands down, macky made things happen. but it wasn't really enough.
when
dylan ababou made that free throw with 12 seconds left, i told myself
that there's still hope for the title. but in the dying five seconds of
overtime, jc missed the banker that could have brought the title back to
katipunan. and yes, with the jumpball occuring and the freaking
possession arrow almost at the side of the tigers all game long, the
defeat was made visible as jun cortez nailed his first free throw and
bungled the second one, which led to a lose ball scramble and jai
throwing that desperation shot that didn't hit the mark. it's over - the
tigers won their first title after a decade, and the eagles are going
home to katipunan with no bacon. it's just disappointing that the blue
eagles, amidst sailing by the eliminations with a 10-2 mark, seeding
first in the final four and getting ample rest by dispatching the
adamson falcons, and taking that first game with doug's undergoal buzzer
beater, blew their title chances by literally running out of luck in
the end game. that's why i share the same sentiment with jc, who fell to
tears when the game was sealed in favor of the tigers. sayang. sayang talaga.
though the title will go to espana this year, he and the rest of the
eagles have practically nothing to be ashamed of, considering the
above-mentioned feats that would definitely be sterling moments in
school basketball history. yes, i still give the championship to the
blue eagles, not because i belong to the school, but because they were
consistent all throughout.
on a personal level, i
really rooted for ateneo from the very beginning, for reasons beyond
just such being my school at present. i've watched two games this season
- first at ninoy aquino stadium where ateneo won against adamson by a
solitary point courtesy of a trey by chris, and second was that
sensational triumph over feu where jc drove that left-handed lay-up with
1.2 seconds remaining which in turn booted out the defending champions
from final four action. and in all these games, i was wearing my "lucky
outfit" (blue shirt, jeans, rubber shoes). i tried doing the same thing,
but it didn't quite work out this time. i also tried praying in the
coliseum during certain breaks of the game, but it seems to me that god
is telling me to do it at san jose instead! but for me, the most
striking scene on that game was the entire ateneo side singing "song to
mary" with much grace and confidence despite losing. it was remarkable
that the supporters never really left as a sign of encouragement to the
players who were simply unbelievable all game long just to play for
school pride. indeed, being there at the biggest stage of them all at
perhaps the biggest ateneo game this season was indeed a different
experience. and even if the school lost the game, i am proud to say that
the entire team, and even the alumni, students, and staunch supporters
of the school, have fought the good fight.
QUINITO, IS THAT YOU?
ok, i know i am not quinito henson, but here are three points that were crucial in the turn-out of events in game three:
- black magic gone.
yes, ateneo was a team known for being lucky, sometimes too much, in
very close games. they have won through clutch shots and a lot of
decisive plays in the end game - the most notorious of which is that 1.0
second shot of doug kramer that sent game one to the bag of the blue
eagles. unfortunately, in game 3, the blue eagles simply ran out of
luck. jc intal missed two potential game clinchers - one before the end
of regulation and the other one at 5 seconds left in overtime. like jc,
the rest of the eagles were on handcuffs, except macky escalona who
torched the ring with drives and treys for a 28 point output. and yes,
just when the eagles needed that "black magic" running the show, it went
to the other side of the court. the tigers were just lucky, if i may
say, to survive game 3. they had the breaks all throughout the game.
espiritu's trey and canlas' putback as well as ababou and cortez's free
throws were not the only tangible proofs of such luck. with 3.7 seconds
left in overtime, it was a jumpball between a tiger and doug kramer, and
guess what: the possession arrow was at the side of UST! and yes, with
cruz and evangelista at bay due to graduation from fouls, pido jarencio
must have found unlikely heroes in his second stringers. it really
doesn't matter now if he looks like jose manalo or allan k. he's
champion coach for motivating the unseeded tigers very well. and we also
have to incude for getting all the luck he needed to get the tigers
from a 2-5 first round start to a roaring championship finish. let's
just say that he got his own fair share of "black magic" used at the
right place and time.
- too much complacency.
here, the eagles would have to learn their lesson. the reason why their
games all throughout the season were very close was because of too much
complacency on their part - on protecting the lead, on securing the
leather, on dictating the tempo, and on selecting better shots. yes,
they were known for winning in close games, but when the game breaks
open, it becomes harder for them to catch up and even take the game
home. true, they have "black magic" on their sleeves, but when they run
out of it, they have to go BACK TO BASICS - tempo, hustle, rebounding,
shot selection. they had a five point lead in the closing minutes of the
game, but they relaxed too early, which paved way for UST to barge into
the game and send it to overtime. and in overtime, they had chances on
taking the lead, but their shots were not falling and they failed to
secure the boards from the tall tigers. a lot of people have been
questioning certain calls from our dear referees, but i think that it's
beyond our control now. with the game decided and the championship
already in espana, what the eagles could do is to learn their lesson -
focus on rebounding, selecting and taking better shots, protecting the
lead from brief spurts, and dictating the tempo all throughout the
ballgame.
- japeth aguilar.
obviously, this factor has been the big difference all throughout the
blue eagle's season. the 6'7'' behemoth was the biggest blow to the
basketball team as he left for greener pastures in the US NCAA. that
left the middle without the once dominant presence of the monster shot
blocker and rebounder. true enough, the absence of japeth was very
evident in the entire season, as centers rabeh al-hussaini and ford arao
tried filling the gap on his behalf. yes, there were stellar
performances of these two centers, but nothing perhaps beats the
towering presence of japeth aguilar in the paint. and i have to say that
ateneo needs japeth aguilar to stop jervy cruz from being a monster
down the middle. yes, japeth may not have the heft unlike jervy, but he
has the quickness and leaping ability to outmatch him in his staple food
- rebounding. and i think that in order for ateneo to win titles
without japeth, it has to train rabeh, drop ford to team B, and lure a
new center to the eagle's lair. a guy named kevin crisostomo perhaps?
hahaha. kidding aside, if japeth was there in the blue eagles roster,
then the championship was surely money in the bank for the cagers from
katipunan. and too bad he won't be in the ateneo line-up very soon -
even in UAAP-NCAA live 06.
well,
next year will be an entirely different story for the blue eagles. jc,
macky, and doug have played their final year. without the main men and
with japeth aguilar in distant shores, the carry-overs from this
runner-up season would pin have to work harder, especially with chris,
martin, and zion playing their final year next year. eric and jai are
the future of the team, and they have to mature just in time for next
season. as i said earlier, rabeh has to be trained well since he has the
potential to take over japeth's place, while ford has to be dropped to
team B for further training. ken might take over the place of jc in the
line-up, so he has to prove why he's former junior's mvp before entering
the collegiate league. emman, the spitfirish point guard will hopefully
see more playing time next season, since he has proven that he can play
with the big boys. how about coach norman? rumors have it that he might
be replaced next season as his contract is expiring soon. but it makes
me wonder if ateneo needs a pido jarencio to do the job if we have a ten
time grandslam coach in norman black. unless we can get chot reyes, who
used to be a blue eagle too, to coach the eagles next year. or better
yet, take the living legend himself - robert jaworski! para patas lang laban. ginebra! ginebra!
to
end this rather long analysis, i think that the ateneo-ust clash was
expected to usher in a new rivalry in collge basketball. i think
otherwise. it is obvious that nothing can still beat the blue-and-green
rivarly, which we would be (again) seeing next year. if there's
something between these two institutions, it has to be their religious
orders - the dominicans and the jesuits - who have been "at clash" all
throughout world and even philippine church history. well, just a
reminder to all die hard USTe fans: yes, the dominicans may be ubiquitous, but without the jesuits, there would be no UST hospital and college of pharmacy! so let the two religious orders pull each other's hair. for sure, ignatius of loyola and his first companions are cheering "one big fight" while dominic and thomas aquinas are chanting "go USTe" while dwelling among the communion of saints in heaven.
