There are different ways to win a championship. All of them work, but ideally you’d like a butt-whupping so everyone can spend a stress-free fourth quarter soaking it in, carrying on like maniacs, watching the boys celebrate on the bench and everything else.
My favorite moment of the game, as well as the one I’ll always remember, is when UE called timeout after those Jai Reyes 3s with the Blue Eagles pulling away. Everyone could smell the trophy at this point. It was going to happen.
I glanced over to the Ateneo bench and noticed Norman Black just sitting there grinning; he looked like a proud parent watching a son or daughter giving an Oscars speech. He couldn’t have been happier to be there. It wasn’t possible.
Seated next to him, Manny Pangilinan faced the crowd behind the Blue Eagles bench, watching the Ateneo faithful cheering as he nodded happily. You could see him soaking in the moment. He wasn’t even doing it for the cameras; it was one of those times when you could study someone from a distance and read every single thing they were thinking.
He was thinking about the past few years, and all the bad things that happened, and all the times he gave up hope, and now he was reminding himself to enjoy the moment. You could see it.
All of it.
Once again, my beloved Ateneo Blue Eagles were the champs.
The UE Warriors had been vanquished.
The kingdom “on a hill, between the earth and sky where Loyola’s colors fly” was hopping.
And yes, everything was right with the world again.
You have read this article Ateneo /
Basketball /
Blue Eagles /
Sports /
UAAP
with the title Ateneo Blue Eagles Drive For Five: Championship No. 2 (2009). You can bookmark this page URL https://ksalsafadinho2009.blogspot.com/2012/10/ateneo-blue-eagles-drive-for-five.html. Thanks!
