Through a Basketball Aficionado’s Eyes

by Milo

Throw away the entire post-game skirmish between the Ateneo and UST fans.  In a finals game, there will always be bad eggs creating a standoff amongst the faithful followers of both squads.  The Ateneans will strongly note at the UST fans jeering at them from the Araneta side gates as the Blue fans exited the arena with the “Uwi na kayo!” cheer clamoring behind them.  The Thomasians will strongly note about the general “brattiness”, the “we’re-God’s-given-gift-to-basketball” perfect nature bad attitude and sour faced looks the Atenean fans shot when they lost the game.

As I walked around the Cubao area and through the Gateway mall like I often do coming home from work, I witnessed these things first-hand emanating from both squads.  A few UST fans waved their “Go Tigers” signs while sticking out their tongues in front of the Atenean fans.  A few Atenean fans shouted “Tsumamba lang kayo” at them.  I do not hold any fault against them.  After all, they are all caught in the spur-of-the-moment gleam.  Their reactions do not reflect the overall demeanor and nature of the entire institutions they study in.

Different schools, different heightened perspectives, different focus.  The good things get thrown out of the window because the spur-of-the-moment causes fans to be busy looking at the planks in the opponents’ eyes that they are actually turning into the people they despise.  Given some time, everything will be back to normal.

To a basketball aficionado’s eyes, it does not matter who won or lost, but rather, the quality of basketball played.  Season 69 turned out to be one of the best seasons UAAP has had in a long time.  The tight nerve-wracking games, the miracle shots, the close calls, the closest MVP fight in recent history, the genius plays, the surprise packages, the new breeds, the lively crowds, the coming of age, the long streaks and fairytale endings — all of these wrapped in one season. 

Game 3 was a perfect way to cap the season.  Those lead swings and crunch time shots kept me full of the beauty of the game.  We were also gifted with extra time.  The hunger and passion to win were all there present in both teams.  This was college basketball at its finest.  The professional leagues would turn green with envy with the fury, passion, love and energy emitted in this final game.

My friend Gi, a UST Tiger, wisely remarked that the Tigers win wasn’t due to Ateneo’s lack of passion or overconfidence, or due to UST’s hunger, Pido’s “Never-say-die attitude” or God’s will, but rather it was decided by the breaks of the game.

And I agree with him.  Both teams were evenly matched up in all areas, having the advantage in some categories, but also lacking in some.  This “power” and “skill” of equal proportions turned every dribble, every second, and every shot into a move of beauty.  Each move turned into a masterful array of art strokes, and each played its piece in the grandiose dance of basketball.  In the end, however, a decision needed to be made, and it so happens that the Tigers won by the closest of margins done by one vital shot with one vital stop.

The UAAP treated the audience with a final worthy of a “Best Finals Series ever” award.  When all was said and done, when the smoke has cleared and the spur-of-the-moment glow has faded away, one has to realize that they have just witnessed one of the greatest games of basketball that has ever been played in recent memory.  To that, we all became winners just by seeing such a spectacular and majestic display of artistry and wizardry in college hoops.

And if there were losers, I guess they would probably be those sponsors for pulling out by thinking that this season would bomb due to the La Salle Green Archers’ suspension.