Talk about a season for the ages.
13-1 elimination round record. 2 blue chip rookies in the mythical five. A PHENOMenal rookie of the year. Championship games = blowouts. A finals MVP who shot 78% from the field. And of course, a fourth straight championship.
Most people outside of the community either admire or get irritated with the way Ateneans these days bring that swag of being the champs of the UAAP. Even though I didn't end up studying at the LS for college, I maintained that same irritating passion for the team despite studying in UP.
Why?
More than just spending 12 years of my life in blue, I was already in Grade School when it was the sports program's so-called "dark ages". There was a time when having a competitive game against the likes of the late 90's Archers or Growling Tigers was already a stretch. There was a time when Ateneo was almost a bottom dweller. Heck, I only knew about the Final Four format when Ateneo got pretty competitive in the year 2001 and were challengers for the UAAP plum. It was that bad.
Who could not forget the time when the Joe Lipa-coached Blue Eagles were trounced by the Archers in 2001. That did sting so much as it piled on some frustration and who wants to lose a championship series to your arch-rivals? But at the same time, it was the start of a new era. Take note: that season became the third of a string of 13 straight Final Four appearances - wherein Ateneo was always at least a 3rd seed.
Since 2001, the team went to the finals 6 times and won 5 times. Talk about a high batting rate.
Coming from last year's considerably improbable championship (given that the team lost Rabeh, Nonoy and Jai all in the same year), Ateneans were in a giddy when the team recruited the likes of Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena. Basically, it was championship or bust.
Thankfully, they did deliver.
Ladies and Gentlemen, your FOUR PEAT UAAP MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS.
