Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last September 15, 2008.
It was 2002. I was still in my freshman year in Ateneo and the Blue Eagles just won the UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. Although I have been watching UAAP basketball games ever since I was in elementary (I grew up watching Bal David’s UST Tigers pounce on Jason Webb’s DLSU Green Archers), the rivalry was still new to me. I usually struggle cheering Fabililioh then because I have not yet memorized it. The drumbeat and cheers of La Salle would not stop playing in my mind after I watched my first Ateneo-La Salle game live from the green side of things. Most of all, it was my first time to browse through and read forums (i.e., Atenista.net, Greenarcher.com, pinoyexchange.com). I never posted on any fora but it was a good way to kill time by leisurely reading on the articles and posts in there. I have not yet matured with regard to posts about bashing and nonsense but since I was not posting (yes, up to now), there was no harm done. Nevertheless, forums have always been my daily dose of UAAP rumors. Since the UAAP season just ended then, all the talk was about player recruitment. There was one player who stands out then – hailing from Xavier School, Chris Tiu.
Xavier School has been dominant in high school hoops for years then and their standouts have shown potential in UAAP. Of the latest, two of their players went to De La Salle University – Joseph Yeo and TY Tang. However, people were speculating on where Chris Tiu would end up studying in. Unlike his ex-highschool mates, he was exceptionally intelligent. Thus, he will not be playing on a school that has a better basketball system. He would be more interested in the program/course he will end up to than his playing time in basketball. Thus, he was up-for-grabs for the Big Three. The speculation and the hype on Chris Tiu stretched up to the summer of the next year. He was touted to be the next best thing because of his superb shooting skills. The questions on where he would play stopped when he suited up for Ateneo because he got the course he wanted – Management Engineering – the very same course I had. I can still remember the Freshman Preparatory Course where he already had the limelight because of all the hype on him. I breathed a sigh of relief that we got the highly touted rookie that year. After winning a championship, Ateneo is going to have a very bright future for the next few years as we have the sufficient talent. I was very confident then that we would easily trample La Salle for the next two to three years...NOT!
Season 66 started and the Blue Eagles dominated. However, the highly touted rookie was not that impressive. Chris Tiu was not the player I expected him to be. He was passing up too many shots then. There were instances when he passed despite the fact that there were just few seconds remaining in the shotclock. Furthermore, he missed free three point shots on the instances he attempted them. It was pretty disappointing especially because some rookies were already shining then. One of them was La Salle’s JV Casio. Hey, we were supposed to beat them in the rookie wars because we bagged the greatest rookie of the batch, why are their rookies better? D’Oh! I was still inexperienced in watching college basketball then that I did not realize that one should not expect too much from rookies. Perhaps, it was because I experienced watching rookie shoot the lights out in PBA or I was expecting too much since LA Tenorio had a superb rookie year. In the end, Chris Tiu had the brand ‘overhyped’ while La Salle’s JV Casio ended up winning the rookie of the year honors.
It seemed that JV Casio has silenced everyone who counted him out. He proved then that he should be the one people should have hyped. Anyway, he came from San Beda High School, which is like Tiu’s Xavier – a high school with a winning tradition. Ateneo may have placed better than La Salle in 2003 but JV Casio and his rookie mates showed more promise as they built up a team that would soon dominate the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the next two years. Instead of having a great dynasty, my Blue Eagles struggled as there was no new talent that showed promise. The 2002 powerhouse team players began to leave the team after graduation and those that did not belong to the star players of the 2002 team did not develop that much. I actually hated Joel Banal for overusing his star players then as it was detrimental to the growth of young guns like JC Intal, Chris Tiu and Ford Arao. Franz Pumaren, on the other hand, was utilizing his rookies heavily that it gave them composure to battle it out soon after they sacrificed the 2003 season to development. JV Casio was a reliable shooter whereas Chris Tiu did not blossom to be the star player he was once touted to be. All we know about Chris was he is Master Eskinol and he missed a wide-open layup in a crucial stage of an Ateneo-La Salle game.
Nevertheless, years passed. Chris Tiu stopped one UAAP year in order to study abroad while JV Casio stopped playing because his school was suspended for a year. The 2002 babies (Intal, Kramer and Escalona) blossomed after the departure of the last 2002 star player –LA Tenorio. La Salle saw Yeo, Cardona and Arana leaving thus handing the keys to their reliable players like Casio, Tang and Villanueva. Years passed and players matured. All of a sudden, I heard the news that Chris Tiu made the game winning three to beat Adamson in Season 69. The overhyped rookie is starting to show some promise. After Ateneo lost to UST in the finals of 2006, all eyes are suddenly set to Chris Tiu as he is bound to be the next King Eagle. When the torch was passed to Chris Tiu last year, I was still a bit weary of our chances in the UAAP tourney. UST is having a dynasty of a team while La Salle returns with their new prized catches (watching La Salle’s way of developing rookies makes it scarier). The Blue Eagles say the Three Kings leaving. Ford Arao has been disappointing year in and year out. Eric Salamat has some promise but his rookie year was still not exceptional. To top it all, I was still uncertain if Chris Tiu will shine as the new leader. It feels awkward seeing him having the top role because he does not dominate games and he usually gives up the ball to his teammates even on possessions where he should have taken the shot.
I remembered responding to a friend from UST when he was trash talking me because the Blue Eagles would be inferior to the Growling Tigers in paper. I said, “Matatawa na lang ako pag nag-champion kami next year.” Who wouldn’t? That would be an in your face to all the Ateneo bashers because we have been weaker when our top three players departed.
Season 70 started and the Blue Eagles began to show some promise. Ford Arao has changed incredibly. He has suddenly become a scoring threat. Eric Salamat got better. We have above average rookies in Nonoy Baclao and Kirk Long. To top it all, Chris Tiu has silenced all his critics as he has led the team convincingly. He has torched La Salle in the elimination round games by hitting dagger threes in crunchtime. We are suddenly reaping the benefits of the 2003 recruitment. Chris may not have dominated every Blue Eagle game but his leadership was the best I have seen so far. Larry Fonacier or Rico Villanueva may have been great leaders by willing the team to win but Chris Tiu does it by giving chances to the newbies. Gone are the days when we are scared of having zero development from the rookies and sophomores. With Tiu at the helm, he makes everyone around him better. An example of which is the emergence of Eric Salamat, Kirk Long and Nonoy Baclao. He also knows how to will his team to win but he ensures that the next line of players will be better.
Suddenly, the Blue Eagles emerged from being the laughing stocks to be a serious contender. We were peaking at the right time until NU buzzkilled our chances. Nevertheless, Team Ateneo made us happy when they revenged last year’s defeat by beating the UST Growling Tigers in the Final Four. The supposedly undermanned team has become a strong and well-composed one. We have actually beaten La Salle 3-2 that year. Yes, they won the games that matter but the Ateneo Blue Eagles showed everyone that they are for real. Why? Because the King Eagle was excellent.
On the other hand, La Salle went to win the championship thus adding another crown to Casio’s resume. La Salle had the better cast then. They had Tang, Villanueva, Casio and Maierhoffer on the team. This is arguable but I think Chris Tiu has finally beaten JV Casio individually in that year. Of course, La Salle still had the better return-on-investment because they won the championship but there was no denying that Chris Tiu is for real. This time, it was Chris’ turn to silence the critics who have counted him out after his forgettable rookie and sophomore seasons.
Season 71. Both Ateneo and La Salle were able to convince Chris Tiu and JV Casio to return and lead their basketball squads in their final year in their school. Now, both of them are at the helm. It was Casio’s turn to experience the departure of notable star players while Chris Tiu leads a more seasoned team. Ateneo and La Salle extinguished the opposition in the eliminations and end up first and second respectively. However, they did not have the same route.
Ateneo dominated as players like Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Eric Salamat, Nonoy Baclao and Ryan Buenafe impressed the Ateneo gallery. Ateneo banked on its fundamental defense by clogging the interior. Chris Tiu got a bit better than last year as his leadership intangibles sharpened. His statistics are better as he is now in the Top Three of the statistical point competition for the MVP race. More importantly, he runs the floor as if he has a leadership aura – his team gets better if he is playing even if he does not score a point. He is still deadly in clutch as he has bailed out his team many times during close games.
La Salle, on the other hand, had to go the harder route. They had a good winning streak in the first round but they suddenly found themselves struggling in the second round as their scorers start to lose their touch. They have to count on JV Casio to bail them out numerous times as he scored heavily. JV did not have the luxury of having sufficient star players to help him out. Only Rico Maierhoffer was there to help him. James Mangahas and Peejay Barua are good options but they do not bring the same positive impact that Eric Salamat and Nonoy Baclao provide Ateneo. But still, La Salle prevailed in getting themselves to the finals with the exceptional coaching of Franz Pumaren and the amazing skills of JV Casio. The Green Archers’ composure was also notable. They endured two close Final Four games against FEU and they are back to their favourite stage – the Finals.
As of this writing, both Chris Tiu and JV Casio are tied performance-wise this year. They are both the heart and soul of their respective teams. However, their rivalry spans from their rookie seasons up to the present time. La Salle has already gotten their return-on-investment from JV Casio as he has delivered two championships for the team whereas Ateneo’s main return-on-investment from Chris Tiu has not yet been achieved. But if we are to ask which school got the better of the two in their recruitment in year 2003 (basketball-wise only... Chris Tiu easily pawns JV Casio popularity and academic-wise), this Finals best answers that question. They have silenced their critics before. They have beaten each other (Casio on the early parts while Chris on the latter ones) on years before. What remains is to deliver their teams to the championship glory by being at the helm. The face-off ends in the UAAP Finals this year as both teams square off once again.
I hope Chris finally delivers Ateneo the championship this year. He deserves it but he should earn it by winning the games that matter the most. To all Ateneans, we have not yet proven anything yet. All we have done is to intimidate our opponents by beating UE big time. Thus, we do not own any bragging rights as of now. La Salle has been exceptional in finishing the season every year. We have to prove that we can also do it. All we can do as of now is to believe. Go Ateneo! One Big Fight!
It was 2002. I was still in my freshman year in Ateneo and the Blue Eagles just won the UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. Although I have been watching UAAP basketball games ever since I was in elementary (I grew up watching Bal David’s UST Tigers pounce on Jason Webb’s DLSU Green Archers), the rivalry was still new to me. I usually struggle cheering Fabililioh then because I have not yet memorized it. The drumbeat and cheers of La Salle would not stop playing in my mind after I watched my first Ateneo-La Salle game live from the green side of things. Most of all, it was my first time to browse through and read forums (i.e., Atenista.net, Greenarcher.com, pinoyexchange.com). I never posted on any fora but it was a good way to kill time by leisurely reading on the articles and posts in there. I have not yet matured with regard to posts about bashing and nonsense but since I was not posting (yes, up to now), there was no harm done. Nevertheless, forums have always been my daily dose of UAAP rumors. Since the UAAP season just ended then, all the talk was about player recruitment. There was one player who stands out then – hailing from Xavier School, Chris Tiu.
Xavier School has been dominant in high school hoops for years then and their standouts have shown potential in UAAP. Of the latest, two of their players went to De La Salle University – Joseph Yeo and TY Tang. However, people were speculating on where Chris Tiu would end up studying in. Unlike his ex-highschool mates, he was exceptionally intelligent. Thus, he will not be playing on a school that has a better basketball system. He would be more interested in the program/course he will end up to than his playing time in basketball. Thus, he was up-for-grabs for the Big Three. The speculation and the hype on Chris Tiu stretched up to the summer of the next year. He was touted to be the next best thing because of his superb shooting skills. The questions on where he would play stopped when he suited up for Ateneo because he got the course he wanted – Management Engineering – the very same course I had. I can still remember the Freshman Preparatory Course where he already had the limelight because of all the hype on him. I breathed a sigh of relief that we got the highly touted rookie that year. After winning a championship, Ateneo is going to have a very bright future for the next few years as we have the sufficient talent. I was very confident then that we would easily trample La Salle for the next two to three years...NOT!
Season 66 started and the Blue Eagles dominated. However, the highly touted rookie was not that impressive. Chris Tiu was not the player I expected him to be. He was passing up too many shots then. There were instances when he passed despite the fact that there were just few seconds remaining in the shotclock. Furthermore, he missed free three point shots on the instances he attempted them. It was pretty disappointing especially because some rookies were already shining then. One of them was La Salle’s JV Casio. Hey, we were supposed to beat them in the rookie wars because we bagged the greatest rookie of the batch, why are their rookies better? D’Oh! I was still inexperienced in watching college basketball then that I did not realize that one should not expect too much from rookies. Perhaps, it was because I experienced watching rookie shoot the lights out in PBA or I was expecting too much since LA Tenorio had a superb rookie year. In the end, Chris Tiu had the brand ‘overhyped’ while La Salle’s JV Casio ended up winning the rookie of the year honors.
It seemed that JV Casio has silenced everyone who counted him out. He proved then that he should be the one people should have hyped. Anyway, he came from San Beda High School, which is like Tiu’s Xavier – a high school with a winning tradition. Ateneo may have placed better than La Salle in 2003 but JV Casio and his rookie mates showed more promise as they built up a team that would soon dominate the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the next two years. Instead of having a great dynasty, my Blue Eagles struggled as there was no new talent that showed promise. The 2002 powerhouse team players began to leave the team after graduation and those that did not belong to the star players of the 2002 team did not develop that much. I actually hated Joel Banal for overusing his star players then as it was detrimental to the growth of young guns like JC Intal, Chris Tiu and Ford Arao. Franz Pumaren, on the other hand, was utilizing his rookies heavily that it gave them composure to battle it out soon after they sacrificed the 2003 season to development. JV Casio was a reliable shooter whereas Chris Tiu did not blossom to be the star player he was once touted to be. All we know about Chris was he is Master Eskinol and he missed a wide-open layup in a crucial stage of an Ateneo-La Salle game.
Nevertheless, years passed. Chris Tiu stopped one UAAP year in order to study abroad while JV Casio stopped playing because his school was suspended for a year. The 2002 babies (Intal, Kramer and Escalona) blossomed after the departure of the last 2002 star player –LA Tenorio. La Salle saw Yeo, Cardona and Arana leaving thus handing the keys to their reliable players like Casio, Tang and Villanueva. Years passed and players matured. All of a sudden, I heard the news that Chris Tiu made the game winning three to beat Adamson in Season 69. The overhyped rookie is starting to show some promise. After Ateneo lost to UST in the finals of 2006, all eyes are suddenly set to Chris Tiu as he is bound to be the next King Eagle. When the torch was passed to Chris Tiu last year, I was still a bit weary of our chances in the UAAP tourney. UST is having a dynasty of a team while La Salle returns with their new prized catches (watching La Salle’s way of developing rookies makes it scarier). The Blue Eagles say the Three Kings leaving. Ford Arao has been disappointing year in and year out. Eric Salamat has some promise but his rookie year was still not exceptional. To top it all, I was still uncertain if Chris Tiu will shine as the new leader. It feels awkward seeing him having the top role because he does not dominate games and he usually gives up the ball to his teammates even on possessions where he should have taken the shot.
I remembered responding to a friend from UST when he was trash talking me because the Blue Eagles would be inferior to the Growling Tigers in paper. I said, “Matatawa na lang ako pag nag-champion kami next year.” Who wouldn’t? That would be an in your face to all the Ateneo bashers because we have been weaker when our top three players departed.
Season 70 started and the Blue Eagles began to show some promise. Ford Arao has changed incredibly. He has suddenly become a scoring threat. Eric Salamat got better. We have above average rookies in Nonoy Baclao and Kirk Long. To top it all, Chris Tiu has silenced all his critics as he has led the team convincingly. He has torched La Salle in the elimination round games by hitting dagger threes in crunchtime. We are suddenly reaping the benefits of the 2003 recruitment. Chris may not have dominated every Blue Eagle game but his leadership was the best I have seen so far. Larry Fonacier or Rico Villanueva may have been great leaders by willing the team to win but Chris Tiu does it by giving chances to the newbies. Gone are the days when we are scared of having zero development from the rookies and sophomores. With Tiu at the helm, he makes everyone around him better. An example of which is the emergence of Eric Salamat, Kirk Long and Nonoy Baclao. He also knows how to will his team to win but he ensures that the next line of players will be better.
Suddenly, the Blue Eagles emerged from being the laughing stocks to be a serious contender. We were peaking at the right time until NU buzzkilled our chances. Nevertheless, Team Ateneo made us happy when they revenged last year’s defeat by beating the UST Growling Tigers in the Final Four. The supposedly undermanned team has become a strong and well-composed one. We have actually beaten La Salle 3-2 that year. Yes, they won the games that matter but the Ateneo Blue Eagles showed everyone that they are for real. Why? Because the King Eagle was excellent.
On the other hand, La Salle went to win the championship thus adding another crown to Casio’s resume. La Salle had the better cast then. They had Tang, Villanueva, Casio and Maierhoffer on the team. This is arguable but I think Chris Tiu has finally beaten JV Casio individually in that year. Of course, La Salle still had the better return-on-investment because they won the championship but there was no denying that Chris Tiu is for real. This time, it was Chris’ turn to silence the critics who have counted him out after his forgettable rookie and sophomore seasons.
Season 71. Both Ateneo and La Salle were able to convince Chris Tiu and JV Casio to return and lead their basketball squads in their final year in their school. Now, both of them are at the helm. It was Casio’s turn to experience the departure of notable star players while Chris Tiu leads a more seasoned team. Ateneo and La Salle extinguished the opposition in the eliminations and end up first and second respectively. However, they did not have the same route.
Ateneo dominated as players like Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Eric Salamat, Nonoy Baclao and Ryan Buenafe impressed the Ateneo gallery. Ateneo banked on its fundamental defense by clogging the interior. Chris Tiu got a bit better than last year as his leadership intangibles sharpened. His statistics are better as he is now in the Top Three of the statistical point competition for the MVP race. More importantly, he runs the floor as if he has a leadership aura – his team gets better if he is playing even if he does not score a point. He is still deadly in clutch as he has bailed out his team many times during close games.
La Salle, on the other hand, had to go the harder route. They had a good winning streak in the first round but they suddenly found themselves struggling in the second round as their scorers start to lose their touch. They have to count on JV Casio to bail them out numerous times as he scored heavily. JV did not have the luxury of having sufficient star players to help him out. Only Rico Maierhoffer was there to help him. James Mangahas and Peejay Barua are good options but they do not bring the same positive impact that Eric Salamat and Nonoy Baclao provide Ateneo. But still, La Salle prevailed in getting themselves to the finals with the exceptional coaching of Franz Pumaren and the amazing skills of JV Casio. The Green Archers’ composure was also notable. They endured two close Final Four games against FEU and they are back to their favourite stage – the Finals.
As of this writing, both Chris Tiu and JV Casio are tied performance-wise this year. They are both the heart and soul of their respective teams. However, their rivalry spans from their rookie seasons up to the present time. La Salle has already gotten their return-on-investment from JV Casio as he has delivered two championships for the team whereas Ateneo’s main return-on-investment from Chris Tiu has not yet been achieved. But if we are to ask which school got the better of the two in their recruitment in year 2003 (basketball-wise only... Chris Tiu easily pawns JV Casio popularity and academic-wise), this Finals best answers that question. They have silenced their critics before. They have beaten each other (Casio on the early parts while Chris on the latter ones) on years before. What remains is to deliver their teams to the championship glory by being at the helm. The face-off ends in the UAAP Finals this year as both teams square off once again.
I hope Chris finally delivers Ateneo the championship this year. He deserves it but he should earn it by winning the games that matter the most. To all Ateneans, we have not yet proven anything yet. All we have done is to intimidate our opponents by beating UE big time. Thus, we do not own any bragging rights as of now. La Salle has been exceptional in finishing the season every year. We have to prove that we can also do it. All we can do as of now is to believe. Go Ateneo! One Big Fight!
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