Legen…
…wait for it…
…dary.
Legendary. That word sums up the feeling I had when Ateneo won its fifth straight championship.
I have to warn you though. I am primarily doing this write-up for myself. Forgive me for my self-indulgence. I am on sports cloud nine right now. How many times in your life can you experience five consecutive championships? Only a few are fortunate to witness their favorite team achieve that. Even powerhouse teams like Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Yankees were not able to achieve those feats. Even Michael Jordan only managed up to three straight. In my lifetime, the only other team to have done this half-decade achievement were the San Sebastian Stags two decades ago. So yes, this is special. (It also makes it bigger if your team has the most in collegiate basketball history at 22)
I have to admit: this fifth championship was very much expected at the start of the year. With or without Greg Slaughter, this year’s crop of Blue Eagles were the most poised to achieve the rare five peat. The player with the highest basketball IQ in the team, Ryan Buenafe, was returning. Another year in Kiefer Ravena’s resume is always a plus. The fact that he owned the team like an alpha dog last year – on his rookie year – says a lot on how dominant he is as a player. Nico Salva is consistent as ever. And in case you forgot, Justin Chua was the starting center in the three-peat year. Not only was he the starter then, he was one of the leading scorers in the team. My buddy Rap and I were even joking in Twitter last June that if we were going to get an alumni card (yup, it has been six years since I graduated and I still do not have one then), it would be at the bonfire. The Blue Eagles were even predicting championships since 2009. We were a confident bunch.
When the UAAP season rolled, our expectations somehow lowered. The Blue Eagles were still strong but there were a lot of games where the defense became sloppy. There were times when I had to tweet “Slaughter, PUSO!” My buddy Ferdie even tweeted Greg Slaughter that he has talents but he lacked heart. Our signature “does not let our opponents score more than thirty points in the first half” was somehow gone. It was replaced by the “we adjust better than ever because we are the effin’ defending champions.” I am not complaining, but it was frustrating to see the players let their opponents easily drive into the basket. There were questions on effort. The turnovers were startling. We still defend well but it was more on the system and the talent than on the passion. You want your champion teams to have that extra push.
Deep inside (and the homer in me), I knew that the Blue Eagles were hiding their best for the last. After all, four years of championship does make you overconfident and complacent. You want to make sure you have sufficient hunger and passion to fuel your team as you peak at the end of the year.
Not only were the Blue Eagles the ones that appear complacent, the Ateneo gallery also appeared to be. We were getting easily outcheered at the start of the games. There were more fans from the opposing schools like La Salle and UST at some games. It was glaring that I discussed this on one of my previous blog entries
However, this was my realization about the Ateneo crowd: we are a champion crowd. I even blurted the joke “The reason why the UST crowd is very loud is because they kept all emotions for the past six years.” It is not totally true (because the UST fans are one of the most rabid fans I have watched live), but the hungrier the fans get, the noisier they become. They cheer at almost every moment they get because they savor it more. As for Ateneo, our fans have learned to cheer and pump up the team at the right moments. We applaud the defensive efforts and we explode into cheers on momentum swinging situations. You have to be there. The Ateneo gallery plays like a possum for most of the game but once our team catches fire, we explode and
Ateneo Gallery: Here we are coming right after you again! We got this. As always.
Or it was something like this…
Opposing Team’s Gallery: (Ice in their feet) Shit. Here we go again.
Or it was something like this…
Peyton Manning’s “I think a little bit of pee came out” from this SNL skit. (1:09 mark)
When the Ateneans started the monstrous “One Big Fight” chant against La Salle in the Final Four, I knew the Green Archers were done. We just smelled victory right there. Say what you want about players being the only ones who can influence the games, I believe the psychology of the players and the crowd plays a lot.
Speaking of psychology…
Ateneo has won a dominating amount of games in the last five years. I would be proud to say that it was the most dominating half-decade stretch in the UAAP. Say what you want about UE winning seven straight titles. One of those was shared. The teams were considerably fewer in the 1970s. The premiere Philippine league then was the NCAA (where Ateneo and La Salle played). I think the Blue Eagles’ win-loss record is at least 80 percent with the many 13-1 and 12-2 teams that we had (we only lost one postseason game in that five-year stretch and it was against a ‘suddenly lucky’ UE squad where all their outside shots were falling). Of these wins, there were countless clutch moments that we had. Crowd always erupted then. Players celebrated.
A sign that someone has evolved into the next level of clutch is when the person already expected it. Classic example was Ryan Buenafe’s three-point dagger against La Salle in the Final Four matchup. When the shot went in, I remembered just raising my hands to celebrate it. I attribute it to emotional fatigue after the wild emotional upswing in that game where I almost got a heart attack due to the sudden surge of emotions. I had the sense of expecting it (I never got scared that game… that was how confident I was of the team) but if there was one person who exhibited the clutch quality then (of course it wasn’t me. I was just a spectator), it had to be Ryan Buenafe. You know what was his reaction? Raised his fist then he stood up. He did not jump up and down and wildly celebrated. Just think of it: It was against our fierce archrivals; it was a final four game; and it was a clutch shot with less than a minute remaining. Players usually celebrate at such moments. But for Ryan Buenafe, it was just another day at the office. His reaction was comparable to Jerry West’s clutch jumpshot or Larry Bird’s reaction after Reggie Miller shot the game-winning three against Michael Jordan’s Bulls.
Thus, I chose to have Ryan Buenafe’s jersey to be autographed. He, along with his batchmates, would have to be the most special batch of players in Ateneo’s sports lore.
Back in 2010, I blogged that the Ateneo Blue Eagles were like Keyser Soze. We did not dominate the elimination round but we turned on the switch at the right time by shocking the FEU Tamaraws – the same team that swept the Blue Eagles in the eliminations – in the Game 1 of the Finals that year. Getting accustomed to seeing the Blue Eagles come through year after year, I had the feeling that they will turn on that switch in the Finals this year. I was hoping for the switch where Norman Black pulls off a rabbit in a hat (like JP Erram against FEU) that would lead to the Blue Eagles to dominate their opponents. However, that was not the case this time around. Teams are getting stronger and Ateneo did not face a team with baggage. La Salle was an up-and-coming team. Their management made it a point to not utilize their old players that much (maybe because they had the losing stench in them). UST is a hungry and passionate team. They were similar to that kind of team that upset Ateneo in 2006.
You can never underestimate the heart (and brains) of a champion. That was the inherent battlecry of this team. We were not efficient with the basketball or our defense become sloppy at times, but this crop of Ateneo players adjusts well when needed. I, along with some Ateneo diehards, may have criticized the lack of passion on some regular season games but I always had the feeling that they were saving it for the final rally.
Ateneo did not dominate La Salle and UST. In fact, they both mounted seemingly comfortable leads against the Blue Eagles. They just completed what a championship team/dynasty can showcase in the big stage – the will to catch up; the ‘never say die’ spirit. Most of the postseason games this Ateneo dynasty had were dominating games (Game 1 against DLSU in 2008, Game 1 against FEU in 2010, Final 4 games against Adamson and UE). Sure, there were tight ones but I could not recall a game where they had to catch up after being down by a considerable margin. Ateneo has showcased it could catch up (with all the rallies it had against FEU in regular season matches) but we have yet to have one on the big stage until this year. Thus, it made winning this championship sweeter. Ateneo’s championships have been combinations of how great teams win it all – defense, discipline, teamwork, swagger, composure, transition offense, unselfish play and fundamental play.
Both La Salle and UST had great game plans going to their game against Ateneo. The way La Salle defended the post and the way they utilized Yutien Andrada was remarkable. UST used the mismatch that their agile wingmen possess. Thus, I loved it when Ateneo adjusted to break the considerable leads in the Final Four and the Game 1 of the Finals. No matter how boisterous the La Salle or UST crowds were, the Blue Eagles ensured that they could surmount a comeback that would shock, freeze and quiet the opposing crowd.
You have to commend the composure the Hail Mary squad had after all the offcourt drama that occurred recently. Here’s what happened: MVP left Ateneo; Coach Norman Black wanted to resign on the spot; we got called lemons and cowards by UST’s Varsitarian; and Ryan Buenafe was playing sick in Game 2. As Fr. Villarin commented, the Blue Eagles played it the right way by being cool under fire instead of fighting fire with fire. That’s what a champion is all about.
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| My picture with the future of Philippine basketball |
I’ll be honest with you. The 2008 championship remains the sweetest for me. However, this year was the most special. We broke away from the pack of four-peat teams by beating the past two four-peat teams in the process. For half a decade, we ruled UAAP basketball. On a personal level, this is my sixth straight year where one of my favorite teams wins a championship. This has got to be the Sports Golden Age of my life. For self-indulgent purposes, these were the championships I cherished through the years:
2007: Boston Red Sox
2008: Ateneo Blue Eagles
2009: Ateneo Blue Eagles
2010: Ateneo Blue Eagles, Duke Blue Devils (I should be counting Seattle Storm but I stopped watching then)
2011: Ateneo Blue Eagles, Green Bay Packers
2012: Ateneo Blue Eagles
Add in the numerous Manny Pacquiao championships. I was also able to watch the following: Chipper Jones’ final year games live in Atlanta; the longest NBA game in almost two decades; the ACC Basketball Championship; an NBA playoff game of the NBA’s most storied franchise; NBA superstars playing in Manila; and Red Sox games in Fenway Park on its 100th anniversary. I am very fortunate. All my sports baggages have been dropped.
It did not matter if I experienced horrible sports experiences like: both my MLB teams collapsing (worst all-time) on the final regular season game; LeBron James pussying his way to Miami; Jerry Sloan era having a bad ending in Utah; LeBron choking in his last game in Cleveland; Boston Red Sox having the worst regular season since centuries ago and New England losing twice to the New York Giants in Super Bowl. I maybe in championship heaven right now to remember all those bad times. I tweeted this after Atlanta Braves’ season ended abruptly: “By being a sports fan, you have a higher probability of failure year to year. That and you are insufferable in times like this.” This is very true. Especially if you are a die-hard sports fan who does not want to jumpship. Some people even live a full life without experiencing a championship. Thus, I am totally grateful for all these memorable sports moments the past six years. I will always remember these years for the rest of my life. Most of my items in my sports bucket list have been checked already. God has been good to me.
In case you are scoring from home, a lot of good things happen when your favorite teams consistently win it all. These are for me, I think…
1) You are less bitter. Ateneo haters like to make big deals whenever Ateneo loses the past five years. Remember the UP loss in 2009? I am actually grateful for that because it woke up the 2009 Blue Eagles. They never looked back after that. Whenever Ateneo loses, it seemed just OK. I would rather have Ateneo lose an elimination round game than a postseason game.2) You complain less. I said less, not never. I still do complain. It is reactionary. Sports will be boring if you do not react on how your team complains. However if you have won a championship, you have no right to totally whine whenever your team gets eliminated. You have been fortunate. Give others a chance.
2b) You rarely complain about the officiating. Mostly, everything is reactionary. I reacted wildly when the umpire botched the infield fly call in Atlanta, but I have learned not to complain that my team lost because of that. Teams win games by their players. I find it lame when people complain that officiating cost them the game. If teams deserve to win, they get the W. Your team should not play on a level vulnerable to swings of the game. Also, the officials are also humans. Accept it, they make mistakes. They are also humans, they hate when people complain too much to them.
3) You become fair and square. I think not all people would feel so, but I am self-indulgent in this write-up so I would speak for my perspective. I learned to be more fair to the players. I was a passionate fanatic before that I would hate an opposing team player instead of giving him his due props. I guess it comes with losing the bitterness. I always try to avoid drinking the Kool-Aid unless the players in my favorite teams have achieved or proven something. Either way, I have learned to criticize my team if necessary.
4) It is fun but since your team always wins, you learn to throw ten times more jokes to entertain yourself. I know this also happens for fans of cellar dwellers because they got bored of their team sucking a lot. Bottom line here is: Come on, have fun. Enjoy the game.
5) Since 2008, I have avoided saying curse words during the games. Of course, there were exceptions like when Joshua Webb kicked a Blue Eagle. It is easier to avoid cussing if your team is winning. But there were numerous instances where I could have blurted bad words half a decade ago. If you want to somehow mature, you have to take the baby steps first.
Just as most Ateneans, I am very grateful. To end this write-up, I just want to say thanks to each of the graduating Ateneo Blue Eagle.
Nico Salva
When the 2008 powerhouse rookies began to play, my friends and I picked who we thought would be the young Blue Eagle that will deliver aside from the highly touted Ryan Buenafe. My buddy Jam picked Bakon Austria especially after he witnessed how great his shooting was on (barangay?) leagues. My buddy Ferdie, the Chiang Kai Shek diehard he is, chose his homeboy Justin Chua. I picked a wild card guy (I have to admit, I just based it on one YouTube highlight compilation) in Nico Salva. The hype was always on Ryan Buenafe then. If not, it was the towering Justin Chua. However, Salva was also an alpha dog who was very agile. Five years after that pick, I remain glad of the results. Not only was Salva a key guy, he had more Finals MVP awards than Ryan Buenafe.
Nico Salva is not known as a guy who passes the ball a lot. His swagger can even be mistaken for a bit of arrogance. I do not care. He thrived even if he had the chip on his shoulder of not being the #1 guy from his batch (I still think Buenafe is slightly better due to his passing and basketball smarts but you have to admit that there is valid comparison between the two). You have to commend Nico Salva for stepping up and owning it.
Greg Slaughter
I was frustrated a lot of times at Slaughter when he lets the opposing players slash with ease. However, it does not take away my appreciation on what he has done for the team. Sure, his offensive moves are not as polished as Rabeh’s. But if you got a guy who can easily score and defend consistently, that is a major plus. Thanks, Greg for making it double sure that we complete the five-peat.
Oping Sumalinog
This guy may not be as talented or skilled as most of the players, but because he was hardworking he earned my respect. It also made it extra special that he recovered big time from an ACL injury.
Tonino Gonzaga
Not much has been said about this guy, but for me he wins the Magis Award of his batch. Whenever someone talks about the 2008 batch, it has always been the Four Horsemen of Ryan Buenafe, Nico Salva, Justin Chua and Vince Burke. Nobody cared who Tonino Gonzaga was. However, he endured through the years to work his way into the rotation. The most commendable thing was that, Tonino always made it a point to deliver whenever he plays. He was no pushover. He makes the 50-50 layups look routine. He could play lockdown defense. He was the role player who delivered when needed. Nothing fancy. He just does what is needed. For making us believers, thank you, Tonino.
Justin Chua
I liked to make jokes on Justin Chua through the last five years because my buddy Ferdie was such a huge homer for him. However, Justin Chua deserved a lot of props for his five years in Ateneo.
People like to discuss the alpha dogs, the clutch guys and the statistical monsters. The same goes on in life. The star employees get the recognition. The most vocal guy gets the glory. But behind all those, there should be a team player who needs to sacrifice for the betterment of his team. There is the role player who has to give up minutes – not because he is not capable of heavy playing time – but because he needs to take one for the team. They rarely get the recognition. Heck, they do not even get the love. If ever, they will just get the flack if they do something clumsy along the way.
But in most successful teams, team chemistry matters. Without the role players taking one for the team, teams crumble. Someone has to give way. The pecking order has to be intact. If my team has the sufficient talents, I would rather have the player who knows his role than the guy who becomes a prima donna and whines on his role.
Justin Chua’s role acceptance was not easy. You can see how it affected his game last year. It’s just normal to feel bad, especially if you were a starter who delivered a lot of points to a champion team. Especially if you were next in line to Norman Black’s premiere big men. But, Justin did not destroy his team chemistry when he had to take a backseat to Greg Slaughter. The fact that he stayed for his final year and played like a team player speaks volumes on his character. I think it is due time he gets the recognition he deserves. It is time the role player who sacrificed gets the spotlight. Justin, thank you for epitomizing unselfishness. It made the Ateneo Blue Eagle dynasty a success. Just look at the roster in the past five years. Most of them were star players or alpha dogs in their respective high school squads. All of them set aside their egos to play as a team.
Coach Norman Black
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| I didn't know I'll be in one of the pictures | Credit: Arvin Lim |
It has come a long way for the past eight years. Norman Black developed the ideal team every college fan could wish for. He ensured that the Blue Eagles were men of character. They had swagger and pride, but they did not have the win-at-all-cost mentality. When they had a lot of emotions, they brought it out to pump up our crowd instead of mocking the opposing gallery. When they lost, the Blue Eagles faced their opponents when they sing their Alma Mater hymn. Even if the opposing players posed to mock the Blue Eagles at halfcourt. Coach Black imposed the “No Yabang” mentality to his players. So much for Ateneans being stereotyped as arrogant bunches. The players showed class and humility during games. Not only did we win on court, we also won off the court. Because of Coach Norman Black, naging mas masarap ang pagiging Atenista. (It became even sweeter to be Ateneans)
Thank you, Coach Norman. You are the greatest coach of all the teams I rooted for.
Manny V. Pangilinan
I know that he is now supporting other schools and might be doing so to defeat the Blue Eagle dynasty he once built. However, it does not remove the fact that he was the main man responsible in making Ateneo Basketball memorable again. Just like Norman Black, MVP was a good leader that we could look up to. Ateneo haters hate him a lot, but the man has done a lot of things to make our society a better place to live in. The way I see MVP’s legacy, it was not just about winning games, it was about having a better community. MVP might not be supporting Ateneo anymore, but he is still an Atenean by heart as he is a man for others. Again, thank you Mr. Pangilinan.
Ateneo Community
Ateneo haters love to point that MVP owns all the championships. They are totally mistaken on this regard. The championship formula goes beyond having great players and a strong program. I know these things comprise of 95% of what make a champion a champion. But, the 5% that pushes it to the extreme? The intangibles. Not only does the cheering of the fans motivate the players, the fact that there is a huge community that supports the team makes the team marketable. Just imagine if the Ateneo Blue Eagles did not have a huge following, do you think MVP would be cashing out for players? Apart from that, the winning tradition and school pride reinforce the complex the players have. Without the Ateneo community, we would not have the five straight championships. So yes, if you are an Ateneo supporter, put your head up and be proud. You are the reason why the Ateneo Blue Eagles are champions.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.
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