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| As they begin standing up again from a big fall last June, Ateneo interim coach Louie Alas said the Blue Eagles are praising God for getting to play some preseason basketball again. Pinoyliga |
QUEZON CITY—Some reporters managed to get a word from interim Ateneo De Manila coach Louie Alas before he quickly left the Blue Eagle Gym following the team's Pinoyliga Cup game on Sunday.
There, he revealed that some Blue Eagles were teary-eyed when they sang "A Song for Mary", the university's alma mater song.
You cannot blame them, as they probably thought a time like that would not come for at least a full year.
Uncertainty surrounded Ateneo's fate for UAAP Season 89 following the tragic drowning incident in Dipaculao, Aurora last June, where former Palarong Pambansa MVP Rene Baterbonia and foreign reinforcement Divine Adili passed away.
Fans quickly entertained the thought of the entire varsity squad being given a one-season suspension due to the ill-fated training camp in the said town along the east coast.
However, while head coach Tab Baldwin was permanently banned from the league, the UAAP spared the Blue Eagles from any suspension, clearing the entire varsity program to resume all its teams' buildup for the new season.
For the embattled men's basketball squad, the redemption arc began when it hosted a quintuple-header in the Pinoyliga Cup.
With the original schedule already set, Ateneo was put in the curtain-raiser against Our Lady of Fatima, marking a rare time in any tournament that the home team was placed in the first game of the scheduled fixtures.
A good number of Ateneo supporters did not mind waking up early just to see their well-loved team back in action after two months full of emotions.
With the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion in full force, the preseason game between the Blue Eagles and the Phoenix got some UAAP atmosphere.
In the end, the blue birds prevailed over the green birds, which made the singing of "A Song for Mary" even more spirited.
For Alas, he and his team have the Lord Jesus Christ to thank for.
"We just praise God for allowing us to play," the former NCAA and MBA champion mentor said when the team finally got to play some competitive basketball again.
"We're just very thankful."
However, Alas is also aware of the "rust" his players still need to shed, considering that he only reassembled the team earlier this month.
"Expected ko yung struggle every time, but with the way we practiced the past two weeks, sabi ko, 'Eventually, we will cope up with this,'" Alas further said.
Unless San Pedro College of Business Administration delivers an upset for the ages on Monday at the Central Recreation and Fitness Center here, Ateneo may likely face the College of St. Benilde next in the next round of the Pinoyliga Cup.
Even if coach Charles Tiu, who still wants to act as the Blazers' head coach even if he is now reassigned as active consultant due to his concurrent role as the Phoenix Fuel Masters' chief tactician, is in Taipei to lead Strong Group Athletics in the Jones Cup, CSB remains a tougher opponent for the Blue Eagles.
However, likely having an NCAA opponent next gives Ateneo a great acid test to measure its UAAP readiness.
