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| The Ateneo Blue Eagles First 6. Photo courtesy of Philip Sison of Fabilioh |
This season, the Ateneo Blue Eagles have surprised many UAAP observers. After today’s 86-75 victory against the UP Fighting Maroons, the team improved its record to 3-0, remaining undefeated atop the league’s standings. For a team supposedly in its ‘rebuilding stage’, with the inclusion of five freshmen rookies on their roster, the team has continued to defy other’s expectations.
The team is coming off two victories against two of the generally regarded weaker UAAP teams in Adamson and UP. However, we cannot underestimate the Blue Eagles’ impressive victory against the defending champions—De La Salle—last Sunday.
The Blue Eagles individual talents were on full display. Kiefer Ravena has played with a chip on his shoulder—proving to everybody that he is now the best player in the league with his MVP-type performance and that his play last season was nothing but a thing of the past. Arvin Tolentino, the much talked about and hyped freshman, has played beyond even my expectations as he has displayed his all-around brilliance three games into the season and an early favourite to win Rookie of the Year. Von Pessumal’s outside shooting has been a big boost for the team’s offense, as they now have a legitimate outside shooting threat spacing the floor and coming of screens for the team. The stat-sheet stuffing of both Nico Elorde and Chris Newsome are on full display in every game as they try to contribute whatever is necessary to earn the W.
Many of us are now believing that the team is back as a legitimate championship contender. We can argue that their record and margin of victory has been impressive (Their wins were by 22, 11, and 11) but the end is still a long way to go and the battle for the championship is only in its early stages. I am not undermining the team’s success but instead hoping that the team can achieve more—and to continually soar higher than the opposition.
The team has had consistent performances from their ‘Fab 5’ (Ravena, Newsome, Pessumal, Elorde, and Tolentino) yet we haven’t seen—nor felt the contribution—of the rest of the team. Thirdy Ravena, through three games, has yet to score but we’re still hopeful that the hype is real. A lot of last season’s rotation players, such as Gwyne Capacio and Vince Tolentino, have yet to hit the ground running and yet we know what they’re capable of. Ponso Gotladera played the game of his life against La Salle but hasn’t achieved the consistency the team needs.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the team is still capable of doing more—magis—than what it has already accomplished. As the team still tries to build its chemistry, after choosing not to play in any offseason tournament, we can only expect more from the team. Who knows come the second round, the team is finally peaking and clicking in all cylinders in terms of execution and player production. The team has surpassed everybody’s expectations with efficient offensive execution (and isolation plays) and its stingy and changing defenses. Maybe what Newsome said earlier in the season is correct—that their unpredictability has been a huge advantage on their side.
The last four games in the first round won’t be easy as the Blue Eagles will be facing NU, FEU, UST, and UE (in that order). These kind of difficult games are breeding grounds for champions. In order for the team to ascend back to the top, they will need to go through adversity, for them to build their character. Maybe the next couple of games may create a dent in the chiselled armour of the team but whoever said something worth having comes easy?
