IT RUNS IN THE BLOOD, THE BLUE BLOOD

ONE. BIG. FIGHT. ONE BIG FIGHT. ONE BIG FIGHT. A repetition of chants that are instantly recognizable by almost anyone.

I’m what they call a “True Blue” in Ateneo, or at least that’s the direction where I’m headed. I’ve been studying there since prep and am currently a sophomore in college. You could basically call it my home for the past 13 years.

In high school, I was a student manager for the Blue Eaglets, the high school representative of Ateneo in the Juniors basketball division. There I would cross paths with eventual basketball stars with the likes of Kai Sotto, Lebron Lopez, Forthsky Padrigao, Joshua Lazaro, and Geo Chiu. But all of this had to begin somewhere.

My first introduction to the UAAP was when I was in grade three, around nine years old. Kiefer Ravena, Greg Slaughter, Nico Salva, Emman Monfort, and Kirk Long were the starting five of the Ateneo Blue Eagles who were gunning for a fourth straight championship while being spearheaded by coach Norman Black. I’ve heard about Chris Tiu when I was in Prep, I saw Ryan Buenafe’s dagger three against FEU but only through replay. This 2011 team was different because it was the first team I actually started to follow. As they say, “nothing beats your first, ever.”

From Justin Chua, Tonino Gonzaga, Bacon Austria, Juami Tiongson, and many more, this team just didn’t seem to have any holes. They played with cohesion and tenacious defense that would suffocate their opponents. I remember their only loss was to Adamson that year, if not for that they probably would’ve been the first-ever 16–0 team.

What made me drawn to them was that everyone knew their roles, they had a 90s Chicago Bulls vibe because let’s face it, they were stacked. Kiefer is arguably the greatest player to ever come out of high school, Greg was the only seven-footer in Manila, the PBA didn’t even have a seven-footer at that time, Kirk, Emman, Bacon, Tonino, and Justin are all coming off two or three straight championships; and Nico Salva never lost his entire high school and college career. For them to play at the level they played, to put the team first above anything else is what made me want to become a Blue Eagle at that time, and even to this day.

The same team practically carried over next year, when they were gunning for the five-peat. I vividly recall my dad picking me up from school right after my mini paya practice that day which was quite unusual. It turns out my mom was able to get us two tickets for Game two of the Ateneo UST Finals. I couldn’t believe it, I was screaming like a little boy, well I actually was at that time, but this was different. This was live. This was at The Big Dome, something I only ever saw on tv.

When we had entered the upper box section, sadly it was on the USTE side. My dad jokingly said, “don’t cheer na, after na lang when we win.” Nevertheless, the atmosphere was nothing like I’ve ever witnessed before. The drums of Babble, the ever supporting sea of blue cheering on, pure energy and electricity flowing all over my body, and to top it all off, it was Basketball we were watching, a sport I have loved ever since.

The game ended and Ateneo captured a feat no one could ever imagine, five straight championships. My dad and I then went straight to Gesu for the celebratory mass and that’s where I first heard “A Song for Mary” with the Ateneo community.

Nothing truly compares to seeing your school triumph. A place that has given you so much, that has formed the person you are today, a place where you’ve met your lifelong friends, a place that is filled with memories of joy, laughter, sadness, and sorrow. No other team will ever encapsulate the saying, “WIN OR LOSE, IT’S THE SCHOOL WE CHOOSE!”