*Credits to Bleachers Brew for the photo*

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A fortnight has passed since the Ateneo Blue Eagles have been crowned UAAP Season 71 Champions (Men’s Basketball) and yet here I am, still in awe of the victory. Part of it is due to the fact that I learned of their sweep of the finals a day late (I was attending a conference during Game 2 of the Finals) and got to read articles and view clippings pertaining to it only a week after (internet connection in Zambia sucks). Apparently, my hardcore hoops buddies who were watching the game live or viewing the TFC livestream have been giving me quarterly updates (via SMS) during the 2nd and decisive game but, as useless, I did not receive them (boohoo!)— thanks, but no thanks, to Zambia’s oh-so unreliable mobile phone network!

My fellow true blue supporters, however, clued me in a few days later (thanks mucho, especially to Tatit and Reg!), so at least I had a sense of how a championship after 6 years feels like. I’m sooo happy for the team and for the Ateneo community! I can’t believe how much they have dominated the league this season despite having been seeded 4th or 5th before the tournament began… how Rabeh metamorphosed from underachieving hot-headed boy to season MVP… and how the other guys in the team (Nonoy, Ryan, Eric, Jai) stepped up big time, proving that the Ateneo squad has so much more to it than Chris Tiu.:) My only regret is that I and most of my diehard cheer-and-heckle-mates— now spread out in three different continents— were not physically present to witness our team’s moment of glory and celebrate with the rest of the Blue and White Faithful. Like one of them said, “this is sooo the year to be home.” To which I added, “…and yet we’re not…”

Nevertheless, we did celebrate in our own little ways and in our own capacities. My version of “being one with the community” was to view (for the 10 millionth time) the DVD set of the UAAP Season 65 Championship (which was one of the few “prized possessions” that I carried with me to Zambia). Watching the Blue Eagles Circa 2002 (as I await the DVD set of this year’s championship) did/does help me feel a sense of solidarity with the Ateneo community as it celebrates the triumph of this year’s “Hail Mary Five” (or “Hail Mary Sixteen”, to be exact). After all, while the individual members of these two champion squads were different, the spirit that carried the team to victory was the same. Puso. All heart. All the time.

It’s crazy, really, to be obsessing about the performance of a bunch of overgrown boys trying to steal an orange spheroid from one another in order to put it through a ring. But then again, to a plentitude of true blue supporters, an Ateneo basketball match is more than just a game. It’s about the growth and coming together of individuals into one cohesive unit. It’s about a community sticking together through victories and defeat.

Can’t wait to be in the midst of that community again next season as I watch our Blue Eagles defend their crown.

Win or lose…you know how the rest goes.:)

ONE BIG FIGHT!