How sweep it is

The Ateneo Blue Eaglets (14-0) swept the elimination round of the ongoing UAAP High School basketball tourney by routing the defending champion NU Bullpups yesterday. That meant getting an automatic pass to the Finals, as well as having a thrice-to-beat advantage.

I'm not trying to guarantee anything but it seems the Eaglets are well on their way to getting back what always belonged in Katipunan -- the UAAP Juniors Basketball crown.

Growing up in the 1990s, the Ateneo HS basketball team used to always be in the Finals, most seasons as champions, while other times as runners-up. That run continued until the 2000s. They were simply the most dominant HS basketball program in the UAAP, and maybe even the country.

Then it all changed in 2011. Ateneo, coming from three consecutive HS championships, lost long-time coach Jamike Jarin to the pro league while superstar guard Kiefer Ravena graduated and moved on to the college ranks. There have been whispers that Coach Jarin knew that the succeeding teams won't be as good as his prior ones, so he wanted to move on before that happens.

True enough, the Blue Eaglets have been less than stellar from 2011 until 2013. They reached the Finals in 2013 only to be swept by NU.

Now, it seems like they're on a mission to regain what is rightfully ours. Here's to hoping this is the start of another decade or so of HS basketball dominance.

Kudos to my HS/college batchmate, coach Joe Silva (and his staff) for weathering a few years of mediocrity (comparing them to Ateneo High's high standards) and bringing back the team to the top of the UAAP Juniors basketball food chain.

Wild Weekend of Sports

I'm an avid sports fan. I watch all sorts of sports that's why my cable subscription includes every possible sport available.

In the past 30 hours, I was treated to a wild weekend of highly entertaining games:

4 NFL Playoff games

Ateneo vs La Salle Women's Volleyball

Ateneo vs NU Men's Volleyball

PBA Finals Game 3

It all started with the New England Patriots - Baltimore Ravens playoff game, where the Patriots, led by my man-crush Tom Brady, had to climb out of two 14-point holes for a 35-31 comeback win. Then my second favorite NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks, blew out Carolina in the next game.

In local collegiate volleyball, Sunday had a pair of must watch games involving Ateneo. The topranked women's team (6-0) was facing La Salle (6-0), and the men's team (5-1) will challenge unbeaten NU.

The Lady Eagles came back from a 1-2 set deficit to win in 5 sets, while the Blue Eagles also prevailed in similar fashion, handing NU its first loss.

In PBA action, Alaska was down 20-plus points before mounting a monumental comeback to take Game 3 over San Miguel, 78-70. It was basically a repeat of Game 1 where they rallied back from 22 points to win in overtime. They lead the best-of-seven series, 2 games to 1.

About 10 hours earlier (Monday 2:00 am Manila), I was glued on the TV for another round of NFL playoff games. Green Bay squeaked past Dallas with the help of a controversial call, while the Indianapolis Colts upset the Denver Broncos on the road at Mile High.

Tomorrow, the first ever College Footbal Playoff National Championship game between (2)Oregon and (4)Ohio State will be played and it should be a good one. Rooting for the Ducks, Nike's flagship school.

Need more weekends like this.

Ateneo seeks 3rd straight title

Can't believe yesterday's Final Four game versus Adamson was the first game I went to this season. I usually catch a couple of games each year and I was expecting to see a lot since I have all the time.

Anyhow, Ateneo dominated the whole game en route to a 68-55 win, advancing to the championship round against FEU. Game 1 of the best-of-three series starts this Saturday. Too bad I won't be in town for the game and I'll probably have to settle for Twitter updates.

Ateneo beats Adamson again

Ateneo stretched its win streak over Adamson University to 27 straight games with a 55-52 victory yesterday.

While Ateneo may have owned Adamson for the past 13 years or so, the Falcons have won the betting game the past couple of years. They've kept most games close thus having an excellent against the spread (ATS) record versus the Eagles.

Ateneo is now in solo 2nd in the UAAP standings with a 9-3 card. Adamson is third at 8-4.

Green genocide

The other day, a team of Ateneo Grade Schoolers massacred De La Salle Zobel kids 110-17 in the PAYA Midgets division. Talk about bringing humiliation to a whole new level.

Major props to the entire AGS PAYA Midgets team and to Jutes Templo, one of their coaches who is a good friend of mine. Keep it up!

So much for the future of DLSU basketball. ROTFLMAO.

Double repeat

Congratulations to the Ateneo Juniors (HS) and Seniors (College) teams for capturing their second straight UAAP basketball championships yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum. Both teams won their best-of-three series by taking Games 1 and 3.

The Juniors team, led by HS junior Kiefer Ravena, defeated top-seeded De La Salle Zobel in Game 3, 61-56. Ravena was named the Finals MVP.

The Seniors routed an uninspired UE squad, 71-58, in their rubber match. Ateneo senior center Rabeh Al-Hussaini took the Finals MVP trophy. Rabeh, senior guard Jai Reyes and senior forward Nonoy Baclao end their collegiate careers in amazing fashion: 32 wins against only 3 losses with two championship rings the past two years.

DLSZ forces rubber match

We could smell the aroma of victor already with Ateneo dominating pretty much the entire game. Too bad they couldn't hold on to an 8-point lead late in the fourth period as they fell to the Junior Archers, 53-57.

The Blue Eaglets seemed comfortably ahead, 51-43, midway through the final quarter but they went cold after that. The kids from Zobel outscored Ateneo 14-2 in the last 4 minutes.

Game 3 is on Thursday, just a few hours before the Ateneo seniors team meets UE in another winner-take-all affair.

UE routs Ateneo in Game 2

SMH at Ateneo shitting the bed today. Can't believe they got blown out by 20 in Game 2.

Oh well, should be a great rubber match on Thursday. Payback time for the Blue Eagles.

Eaglets take Game 1

The Ateneo Blue Eaglets came closer to their bid for back-to-back UAAP high school basketball championships with an 80-73 'upset' win over rivals De La Salle Zobel. It's deemed an upset because the Junior Archers are seeded number one after the eliminations while the Ateneans were third.

Ateneo junior guard Kiefer Ravena was spectacular yet again with his all-around play. He finished the game with a game-high 33 points along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

Game 2 is set on Tuesday at the San Juan Arena. Ateneo leads the best-of-three series, 1-0.

Blue Eagles draw first blood

The Ateneo Blue Eagles won its 12th straight game by defeating the UE Red Warriors, 78-71, to take Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series.

Ateneo senior center Rabeh Al-Hussaini waxed hot from the field, delivering 28 points and 14 rebounds, bringing the Eagles closer to their second straight UAAP seniors division championship. Senior guard Jai Reyes pumped in 17 points, while nailing 5 three-pointers in the second half.

Ateneo will try to gun for the title via a series sweep in Game 2, scheduled this Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

DLSU misses the Final Four bus

La Salle misses the UAAP Final Four for the first time in like more than a decade. It's bittersweet because as I was born and raised in an Atenean family, I was taught to hate La Salle. However, I would have liked the Green Archers to have reached the semifinals so they can be slaughtered yet again by the Blue Eagles.

Anyway, to the DLSU folks and fans alike out there, we'll miss you all.

Ateneo shows UP who's boss

Ateneo would have been flawless this UAAP season if not for an upset loss to perennial cellar dueler UP in the first round. The Blue Eagles waited long for retribution and they finally exacted revenge on their Katipunan neighbors with a 93-75 blowout win yesterday at the San Juan Arena.

The game was never close with Ateneo (12-1) storming to a double-digit lead early in the first quarter. They were on cruise control the rest of the way with the lead balloning to 27 in the fourth period.

Battle of Katipunan Part 2

I usually watch an Ateneo game or two every UAAP season but I haven't gone to any this year. I'm planning to catch the Ateneo-UP round 2 game and see the Eagles blow the shit out of the Maroons in a revenge game.

Ateneo lost its only game of the season to UP in round 1 via a 10-point rout so I'm sure they're raring to exact some vengeance.

Green genocide

It's muuuurrrdddaaaaaa!!!!! Word to Ja Rule.

Ateneo just annihilated La Salle, 81-65.

Truth be told, it was a huge mismatch from the start. The Green Archers never had a chance. It was like throwing a wounded animal into shark-infested waters. There's zero chance of survival.

Someone call 9-1-1, I see people going on suicide watch.

Dumb Black

Norman Black and the Blue Eagles have the best record in the UAAP at 7-1. However, Black may just be the dumbest coach in the league too.

How can he let a huge 17-point lead dwindle down to 5 in less than two minutes? Only a stupid fucker allows that to happen. Yes, they did get the win but they had to sweat it out in the final minute instead of cruising to a comfortable blowout.

Yeah, I am fuckin' heated.

Ateneo survives DLSU scare

I have to admit I expected Ateneo to knock the shit out the La Salle asses during last night's game but I'll take the four-point victory nevertheless. First round ends with Ateneo (6-1) on top due to their straight-up win over FEU, who also sport a similar 6-1 record.

I have to give credit to the Green Archers for putting up a great fight though Webb took it to another level by doing his best horse impression and giving Bacon Austria a kick to the side of the torso. Like grandfather, like grandson.

Anyway, I'm mad Ateneo had absolutely no chance of covering the huge 12-point spread. They cost a lot of Blue faithful some damn good money last night.

State of local college hoops

There's no point in watching UAAP basketball unless Ateneo or FEU are playing. All the other teams are just plain horrible.

No one really watches the NCAA so I won't even bother talking about it.

Ateneo starts season 3-0

Ateneo has gone through the gauntlet of top UAAP contenders unscathed. They beat FEU, UE and UST within a 7 day period. The rest of the first round schedule looks like JV basketball. A sweep is highly likely.

Record: 3-0 SU. 3-0 ATS.

Bonfire bonanza

The La Salle side has been fuming mad over a series of photos taken during the Ateneo's Championship Bonfire a couple of days ago.

Apparently, the firewood used to light the big ass bonfire had the names of the DLSU basketball team members written all over it.

So what? No biggie.

Overboard? Not even.

Distasteful? Maybe.

But hey, what do you expect from such a fierce and heated rivalry. Drop me a line if it ever becomes like Israel and Palestine. Now, that's what I call a war.

Quit whining. Get over it.

Lol @ the three blind mice

Ateneo: 2008 UAAP Men's Basketball Champions

13-1 regular season record
3-0 postseason record

Rabeh Al-Hussaini - Most Valuable Player, All-UAAP First Team, Most Improved Player
Chris Tiu - All-UAAP First Team
Nonoy Baclao - Defensive Player of the Year
Ryan Buenafe - Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie First Team

C'mon now. With the strength of this year's team, was it ever in doubt?