THE Ateneo Blue Eagles’ winning the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 championship was an unexpected one. The kind since the National University (NU) Bulldogs’ most incredible climb to the top of Philippine college basketball’s summit in 2014 (Season 77).
NU, of course, has the ultimate underdog story. They were not tabbed to figure in the top four after they lost about seven top players from the previous season including two-time league Most Valuable Player Ray Parks and Mythical Five member Jean Mbe. They defeated the University of the East in the play-off for the fourth seed, upset Ateneo which owned a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four, they took down Far Eastern University. All the others had better records. That is how much of an uphill climb it was.
You can actually make a case for Ateneo’s 2017 title run against the Ben Mbala-led De La Salle Green Archers. While I did figure they would unseat La Salle even before the season started, Ateneo was good enough to make the Final Four.
This current Ateneo team, logically and coldly did not have the makings of a Final Four squad.
While I felt good about Ateneo winning the inaugural World University Basketball Series in Japan, I felt that they remained largely untested and had too many unknown variables.
They lost SJ Belangel, Gian Mamuyac, Tyler Tio, Raffy Verano and Jolo Mendoza who all had one final season left to play. And former league MVP Angelo Kouame was not 100 percent due to a knee injury.
Losing to University of the Philippines (UP) on opening day of Season 85 did not help either.
It was after the loss to NU in the second round where they started to play better. But you could see them getting better by the time they defeated La Salle, UP and Adamson University.
The loss in Game One of the Finals put UP in the driver’s seat. However, in the fourth crucial match down the stretch (beginning with UP in the second round and the two Adamson matches that bridged the eliminations and the Final Four), Ateneo came out and blitzed UP. Even when Zav Lucero went down with an injury, UP was down by a huge margin. And the 9-0 start to Game 3 propelled them to victory as they mostly dictated the pace of the match
It reminded me of that 21-0 start to the Ateneo-Letran Battle of the Champions of 1987 where the Blue Eagles coasted to victory.
The loss of UP had me also thinking of a cruel irony in their star point guard Joel Cagulangan’s big games so far.
When Cagulangan was playing for La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) during his high school days, the Greenies met up with the Mapua Red Robins in the finals of National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 93. Mapua was the favored team.
LSGH drew first blood in the finals but the Red Robins equalized in Game Two. In the final match of the series, Cagulangan hit two pressure-packed free throws with 33 seconds left that sealed the improbable win.
Why do we say improbable? That was because they were expected to win it all the next season and not that year.
The following season, as defending champions, top seed LSGH faced a weaker Mapua team once more in the finals. The Greenies won Game One but lost Game Two. Playing without their injured star Clint Escamis, Mapua won Game Two and forced a Game Three.
Imagine this… Mapua lost Warren Bonifacio, Mike Enriquez, Will Gozum, Brian Lacap, and Eric Jabel to graduation and Escamis to injury. And yet, the Red Robins prevailed 77-74. So take note of that, UP fans. Injuries are part of the game. And Mapua proved they could win without their star.
During NCAA Season 94, the only Mapua player to really get some playing time was Dan Arches. That year, Paolo Hernandez ascended as an important player for the Red Robins as the partnership with Arches proved tough for LSGH to crack.
In some ways, it is the same for this UAAP Season 85.
Ateneo was seeded to win Season 84, but they fell apart late in the season with Cagulangan hitting the championship point in Game Three. In Season 85, UP was supposed to annex a back-to-back title, but Ateneo found their groove to win it all during a rebuilding year.
Sports is filled with these underdog and destiny/dynasty stories as well as feelings of déjà vu. This is just the latest and that is what makes sports intriguing and beguiling.
Now, we wonder what the storyline is for next season.