On DLSU and Ateneo

Couldn’t believe it myself, but this time, I’d have to agree with Jem.

I think it would be good for all us DLSU fans to read her entry. There indeed is no place for ego in sports, and my hats off to the Blue Eagles for taking it like champs. One of the few traits I admire about the school.

Anyways, as I said, I wholeheartedly agree with what she said. No use in me even trying to wriggle out of that one hehehe.

The lame excuse I had hoped to be true, was that it was part of La Salle’s mental game. After all, there’s no team easier to beat than a team that’s pissed off – and therefore unfocused. JC had mentioned how Ateneo, being a team good enough to beat FEU, et all, would lose all games to La Salle this season. Indeed it seems to be a spell the Archers have mastered to cast on them. And I’d very much would’ve hoped that La Salle’s bravado was part of that spell.

But looking back… who am I kidding!? What DLSU did was very unsportsmanlike. They had nothing else to prove. They are the defending champions… and their history with Ateneo, if not this season at the very least, clearly shows at this point who the better team is – regardless of all backhanded comments from both sides.

It’s a shame that such a good team would ruin it for its supporters by being “bullies.” That’s how I used to think about Ateneo, the arrogance when they won, they hype they put in the whole championship, the trying hard to be spiritual only when its the UAAP season, the DVDs/VCDs released, the guestings on all shows and channels known to Philippine television. Of course that was remedied the next year… and the year after that… etc. So maybe it was a good thing they did all those stuff after all… but let’s not go there.

At this point though, even if I haven’t really been in the [Ateneo] campus that often, I would have to say that the Blue Eagles have already been humbled enough… and “Win or lose, it’s the school we choose.” is something that they can say with heads held up high… this is true especially for the team itself.

Hats-off to the Blue Eagles, thank you for being such great sports. We definitely should learn a thing or two from you… that would make us perfect hehehe. But seriously, thank you for all the fun in the UAAP you have given the archers, you know that’s the only reason I watch the UAAP – pag kayo ng La Salle ang naglalaban.

I hope next season, DSLU would be more deserving of the win. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that they won… but I would love to see the day when I watch them humbly kick some ass. Don’t know what the odds are on that bet though, since I don’t know what goes on inside the heads of players… are they truly that pissed off against Ateneo? Ateneo seems to be carrying themselves very professionally the past few seasons regardless who they’re up against so I can’t see why La Salle can’t do the same.

Anyways, read the blog entry, it would be healthy… just pardon the other below-the-belt comments hehehe, that’s her heart speaking. We probably deserve it anyway if things went down the way she said they did.

And yes, thinking probably would kill us. That’s why we never even try to assume we’re good at academics hehehehe. But I hope we’d try anyway 😉

Not that it matters, but for all my Ateneo buddies, I would like to apologize in behalf of La Salle (hahaha feeling ko talaga special ako no?)

Now that the apologies have been said. I would just like to comment on Ateneo’s performance. Please forgive me if I come off as insensitive, especially given that they already lost but I just have to say it.

I’m already disappointed about La Salle’s cocky-ness, and the fact that Ateneo didn’t even have a fighting chance magnifies the Archers grievous act. It’s nice that La Salle won, but I really would’ve wanted them to win on better terms… or at least an exciting game for that matter.

I have to say I’m very disappointed in Ateneo, not because I would like to root for them anytime soon, I’ll forever be an Archer. But because I really feel sorry for LA Tenorio.

I’ll say this once again… as usual, SIYA LANG ANG ME PUSO NA MANALO YUNG TEAM NILA.

Sure the players have improved a lot as a whole, but who cares!? So have the other teams’ players – big deal! Everything pretty much balances out in the long run. So when going into the finals it’s all about fucking HEART!! And Ateneo, save for Tenorio, has displayed time and time again that they aren’t capable of handling the pressure.

They do display heart though when they lose. And that’s amicable, but I wish they’d focus that dedication into the actual game.

I don’t think that Tenorio getting cramps was because of a condition that he’s susceptible to. I would imagine that any player, if he fought as hard as Tenorio on every game like he does, would’ve easily gotten cramps too! In fact, if that we’re any one of us, we’d probably pass out from the fatigue!

Tenorio can’t pace himself, and to me that’s something to admire. He can’t pace himself not because he lacks the discipline… but because he feels he can’t afford to: He’s the only person who can save the team (at least in those past few games)! And images of the 2001 championship sesason came rushing back – where that idiot Villanueva choked, and left a rookie to fight the team’s battle. It’s heart-wrenching to see one man trying… pushing himself so goddamn hard to his own physical limit, while the rest of his team collapses. Hindi na sila nahiya ke LA! Judging from that, they don’t deserve someone like him to play for them IMHO.

Another is that their defense sucked. It wasn’t that La Salle’s offense was spectacular, nor did it matter if their offense wasn’t going for them. My friend who happens to be a coach (well assistant coach, there’s a big difference I know, but that’s not the point) says:

Walang kaso sa akin na hindi ka maka-score. There’s such a thing as an “off-night.” Hindi ako maiinis sa player ko pag hindi siya makagawa.

Pero there’s no excuse for bad defense, there’s no such thing as an “off-night” in defense… either nagsipag ka or tinamad ka magtrabaho. Ganon lang kasimple yon.

But that’s all over now. I just hope the next seasons would show more promise for everyone.