The recent University Athletic Association of the Philippines or UAAP basketball war was one of the most unpredictable seasons ever. Title favorites UP Fighting Maroons were clawed mercilessly by a stealth Ateneo Blue Eagles led by its foreign student-athlete Ange Kouame, who was also named The Finals' Most Valuable Player.
It was Ateneo's fourth title in five seasons, making it the most successful basketball program. The second-best program belongs to the Diliman squad having won a championship and two runner-up finishes in the past four seasons. The rest of the pack needs to catch up to these two programs.
Since businessman and sports patron Manuel V. Pangilinan took over the management of the Blue Eagle's basketball program, Ateneo has shown its supremacy against other teams, even getting a five-peat starting with its title run in 2008.
Reclaiming its crown, despite having a perceived weaker lineup on paper compared to the heavily favored UP squad, is a testament to the system, management, and its current coach Tab Baldwin has put into the team. As a basketball fan, you can only marvel at how Ateneo methodically dismantled UP in that winner-take-all-game three.
Although the Fighting Maroons managed to close the gap a few times during the game, Ateneo's all-game poise and calmness under pressure was the key to victory. Even as some odds makers placed UP as the heavy favorite, Ateneo did their homework and beat the Fighting Maroons in a methodical and calculated win. While watching the game, I can only marvel at how the Blue Eagles, in surgical precision, had every answer to the runs UP made.
With solid players coming in, I fearlessly predict that Ateneo will be the team to beat in the next season despite the graduation of Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso, and BJ Andrade. Their work is indeed a cut above the other teams. Barring significant developments, the Battle of Katipunan would continue to be one of the most famous UAAP rivalries in the coming years.
The biggest disappointment this season is the DLSU Green Archers. Armed with a solid lineup and a deep bench, the Archers' first-round win over the Eagles and a close loss to UP seemed to show that La Salle was over the hump. But alas this would not be the case.
A disorganized showing in a loss to UE and a supposed win against Adamson, only to lose in overtime, signaled the inevitable downfall of the Archers, whose arrows could not seem to hit the mark. Recent reports indicated that a coaching shake-up is once again brewing. This shake-up will be the fourth coaching change since Aldin Ayo gave the Archers a championship and a runner-up finish.
After Ayo left, the program was in total disarray. A ray of hope emerged when La Salle made it to the Final Four in Season 84 early this year and was a minute away from booking a Finals rubber match against the Blue Eagles. But fate would not deny UP Fighting Maroons, who eventually took the championship crown of Season 84.
As expectations of finally landing back to the finals with its current solid lineup, La Salle losing to Adamson for the final fourth slot in Season 85 was a tragic ending to a once-promising program and perhaps an end to another coaching era.
Basketball fans and observers will surely keep a close watch on off-season developments. Still, one thing is almost inevitable, the Ateneo and UP wars will be the new rivalry unless La Salle and the rest of the teams make huge off-season moves.
