A perfect 16-0 season, that has never been done before in collegiate basketball in the era of the step-ladder Final Four format, will surely linger in the memories of Ateneans both young and old for years to come.

“Fly High! Blue Eagle fly, and carry our cry across the sky! Cast your shadow below. Swoop down on the foe, then sweep up the fields away! Fly high! Over the trees, make known through the breeze our victory! Spread wide each wing, for you are the King, Blue Eagle the King!”

For the non-Ateneans out there, sorry, I just had to blurt out the lyrics of this fighting song of the school for the inspiration of the countless basketball fanatics of the Ateneo, particularly senior alumni like me who would sing this song every ball game, because indeed, the Blue Eagles swooped down on their foes in UAAP Season 82. A perfect 16-0 season that has never been done before in collegiate basketball in the era of the step-ladder Final Four format will surely linger in the memories of Ateneans both young and old for years to come.

Memories, of course, will differ for us Ateneans depending on which era you belong to. For me, it is this short but stirring song written by Raul Manglapus in 1939 that always tugs at my heart every time I hear it. Unashamedly, I confess that the song never fails to stir my Ateneo spirit and to evoke memories of my alma mater and the numerous basketball battles of the Blue Eagles that I grew up with. For the younger generation, perhaps it is “The Song for Mary” that gets the alumni misty-eyed. But regardless of which era an Atenean belongs to, the common thread that is a source of never-ending school pride and scores of stories told and retold over various generations, are the basketball championships won by Ateneo. More than the numerous distinguished alumni the school has produced, somehow, when the young and not-so-young alumni gather together to watch the games to meet up with former classmates and to talk about the “good old days” particularly of our adolescent years, the attention and conversation would inevitably veer towards the school’s latest basketball heroes and their accomplishments on the hardcourt which transcend business, political and ideological differences.

Among the former Ateneo basketball greats in the ‘50s during my grade school years, I can vividly recall wildly cheering for in the bleacher stands at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum were basketball idols like Mr. Basketball himself, Ed Ocampo; muscular speedster Boogie Pamintuan; acrobatic Cris “Stretch” Arroyo, who put in a last second follow-up board shot to nip De La Salle in a championship game; dead-shot from the corner Bobby Littaua; towering centers Tony Jose and Jimmy Pestano, whose names would be loudly accorded a big “rah, rah, rah” by the Blue Babble Battalion as these heroes took jump shots, collared rebounds or scored on fast-break lay-ups.

And who among the die-hard Ateneans in the ‘60s and ‘70s can forget the likes of long-shot gunner Chito Afable and Ateneo’s storied own version then of the “one and done” playing season, primarily because of academic difficulties I recall, of greats like Marte Samson, Joy Cleofas and Francis Arnaiz, who brought a championship to the school in 1969-70.

In the ‘80s, we had standouts like point guards Jun Reyes and Olsen Racela, center Danny Francisco, forwards Jayvee Gayoso and Eric Reyes, and Jet Nieto — now the proud father of three-peat, perfect season champs Mike and Matt Nieto.

There was a brief hiatus during the ‘90s for the school until Ateneo got back on track in 2002-03 with hulking center Enrico Villanueva at the post, forwards Rich Alvarez and JC Intal along with Larry Fonacier’s decisive defensive blocks of De La Salle’s MacMac Cardona during the dying seconds of the championship game. And who can forget Gec Chia’s timely long shot against UE that allowed Ateneo to move up to the finals?

Except for the lull of a few years of championship drought, master tactician Norman Black, starting from season 2008 until 2012, raised the spirits of Ateneans to unimaginable heights of school pride as he skillfully molded and steered the likes of brainy point guard Chris Tiu, phenom Kiefer Ravena, towering Greg Slaughter and Rabeh Al-Hussaini, pesky defender Nonoy Baclao, back-to-back Finals MVP Nico Salva, and shifty forward Ryan Buenafe among so many others in Ateneo’s magical run of straight championships culminating in a never before done five-peat. However, with Norman Black’s departure after the memorable five-peat run, the school fell again into a black hole of desperation when Bo Perasol took over as head coach for three frustratingly long years.

In 2016 however, as the Tab Baldwin era began and with his genius in full display during his first coaching year, he slowly but surely brought tons of sunshine again to the sagging spirits of the alumni as he began to shape and develop a bunch of overachieving youngsters into an efficient, defense-minded basketball machines that surprisingly managed to make a valiant but losing Finals appearance against the Godzilla-like Ben Mbala and crafty Jeron Teng-led De La Salle Green Archers. The unheralded Ateneo youngsters, however, turned the tables on the hapless Green Archers in 2017, then massively routed the UP Fighting Maroons in 2018 and finally in 2019, mercilessly swooped down on the UST Growling Tigers to end the season with a perfect sweep. Without any doubt, now, the names of those youngsters, led by graduating seniors — Thirdy Ravena, Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto, Isaac Go, Adrian Wong and ably assisted by the likes of tomorrow’s frontliners such as SJ Belangel, William Navarro and Gian Mamuyac, will forever be etched in the memories of the Ateneo alumni for generations to come, as the first, and perhaps deservedly so as the perfect team which achieved a perfect season!