Ateneo Blue Eagles, Rebuild, Redeem!

 

ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY Blue Eagles

UAAP Season 84 (2022) record: 15-3

1st place eliminations.

Beat FEU in the final four,

Lost to UP in the Finals 2-1)

Coach: Tab Baldwin (6^th Season)

Subtractions (exhausted playing years): None

Decommitted (forgoes playing year/s): SJ Belangel, Tyler Tio, Gian Mamuyac, Troy Mallillin, Raffy Verano, Jolo Mendoza,

Holdovers: BJ Andrade, Matthew Daves, Angelo Kouame, Geo Chiu, Dave Ildefonso, Chris Koon, Gabriel Gomez, Forthsky Padrigao, Joshua Lazaro,

Rookies: Kai Ballungay, Paul Garcia, Inand Fornillos (LSGH), Kyle Ong (Jubilee), Sean Qetevis (Paref), Jacob Lao (LSGH) JC Fetalvero (AHS)

Reserves: Jed Diaz, Justin Diaz Ian Espinosa

 

Background: 

The Blue Eagles were on track of a rare two season sweep of the UAAP when they suddenly ran out of steam at the end of the eliminations and got beaten by an inspired University of the Philippines squad in the UAAP Season 84 finals. The Blue Eagles only had three losses this year, all against UP with two of the losses coming in the UAAP finals.

 

Key changes: 

Ateneo is losing mostly the core of its veteran squad with SJ Belangel, Gian Mamuyac, Tyler Tio, Raffy Verano, Troy Mallilin and Jolo Mendoza. All of them would’ve been eligible to play in season 85 but unfortunately decided to move along. These guys were the most affected because of the pandemic and this resulted with them giving up their last year of eligibility.  Taking their place are a slew of Team B players in Inand Fornillos, Sean Qtevis, JC Fetalvero and Jacob Lao. Fil-Am Paul Garcia, a two and through player from Salisburry University will be one of the point guards that is UAAP ready and will most likely take SJ’s place once he familiarizes himself with CTB’s system. To add more ceiling, transferee 6-7 Kai Ballungay from Stanislaus State University, California will be taking over Raffy Verano’s place and is raring to prove himself. Another big man is 6-7 Kyle Ong who is still trying to crack a spot in CTB’s rotation. Nine veterans will be coming back for the Blue Eagles in a bid to return the trophy to the other side of Katipunan.

Outlook: 

Losing six valuable veterans will take its toll against the Blue Eagles as they buy time to get their rookies into fighting form and learn Coach Tab’s system. League MVP Angelo Kouame and Dave Ildefonso will now lead this team with BJ Andrade delaying his PBA stint by playing his last year with the Blue & White. Also, Matthew Daves should be able to slide into the 4 spot without much problem while Geo Chiu will now be counted on to hold the fort when Kouame goes to the bench. Notable rookies that played in Season 84 were Joshua Lazaro and Chris Koon. Both are first five shoo-ins and will be ready to play once called upon. Sophomore Fortsky Padrigao will now be the starting point guard with rookie Fil-Am Paul Garcia coming off the bench. Gab Gomez, the three-point specialist showed signs of what he can do but will fight for minutes in this team. The big addition to the Blue Eagles is 6-7 Kai Ballungay who was the MVP of the World University Basketball tournament in Japan. Team B call-ups Sean Qtevis, JC Fetalvero, Inand Fornillos and Jacob Lao will help The Blue Eagles team defense is still there and will make other teams pay if they slack off. The big problem that the Blue Eagles encountered last year is their awful free throw shooting as the whole team shot 60% from the line the whole of season 84. These misses caught up with them when they lost to UP. If they can address their offensive woes this year, the title will go back to Katipunan. The last time the Blue Eagles lost a lot of key players was in 2016 and they still managed to make it to the finals. As Ateneans say, In Tab we trust.

 

Prognosis: 

Ateneo will most likely slid to either 2^nd or 3^rd spot in the eliminations. This means the only way they can bring back the title back to Katipunan is through the hard route since they will most probably meet either DLSU or UP in the final four. If they survive the final four, the finals will be another three-game affair and the only way the Blue Eagles will redeem themselves is to come out with a masterpiece by sinking their free throws, disallowing offensive rebounds by their opponents and overcoming either UP or DLSU’s defense.

 A tall order, but not impossible.