Back on the Hill: AGS 1983 40th Anniversary Celebration

A

The Ateneo Grade School class of 1982 - 1983 held their 40th Anniversary celebration at the Singson Hall at the Ateneo Grade School last December 16, 2023.

The event started at 6:00 pm with a mass.

More than a hundred and ten arrived for the event with more than 20 guests enjoying this one of a kind event.

Ateneo UAAP courtside reporter Rocio Trillo and Ms. World Philippines 2022 title holder Gwen Fourniol hosted the event.

The Ateneo Grade School class of 1982 - 1983 SPM President Dan Soliven welcomed everyone to the event.

\

Rufi Parpan talked about the Men for others Program of AGS 1983.

One of the event's highlight was the tribute to our former AGS teachers. Ricky Bello reads the letter sent by their former moderator Mr. Walter Salonga.

Joey Bernardino talks about how Mr. Walter Salonga impacted his stay at the AGS.

Bong Berbano, together with their Grade 1 class moderator Mrs. Annabelle Quiazon.

The Men and Women who made us who we are today

Fun time with 80's music

My Ateneo Brothers

AGS 1983 Singing the Song for Mary.

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. 

HAIL MARY FALL FROM GRACE

The Blue Eagles were not favored to repeat again

One by one the dominoes began to fall as the dream of the once favored Ateneo Blue Eagles to secure their third straight UAAP Men’s basketball title came tumbling down. First was the departure of JV Gayoso, although cleared by the Ateneo from any shenanigans, Gayoso did not get back to the Eagles line up again. Second was Jet Nieto, although prior to the season he already said that the 1988 season would be his last and all efforts to lure him back were in vain. The biggest setback came during the summer of 1989 when the Blue Eagles were surprisingly practicing in a gym at the Agrarian Reform. The team was surprised that the parents of Danny Francisco surprisingly arrived at the venue while the team was practicing. Danny’s parents called him then talked to him, afterwards Danny told the team that his parents told him and everyone was in shock.  Apparently, he has developed a sickness diagnosed as aneurysm of the aorta. The collapsed lung the other year was a precursor of something more severe. The actual diagnose of the sickness is Marfan syndrome. At the age of nineteen, Danny Francisco retired from competitive Basketball.  This was something no one saw coming as Danny had great 1988 -89 season where he established himself as one of the best if not the best center in the UAAP. He battled against the giants in the Asian Youth tournament and now the man then known as the next PBA 4 time MVP Ramon Fernandez has hung up his sneakers.

Danny Francisco during the 1989 Asian Youth Championship

Adding more woes to the Blue Eagles was the fact that Alex Araneta had some problems with the minimum units required to play for season 52. Upon knowing that problem from Alex, the Blue Eagles had no choice but to drop Alex from the roster. For the fifth time in five years Ateneo had a new coach as Ogie Narvasa was called in for duty but this time for the Seniors division. With Francisco and Araneta out, the Blue Eagles team became known as the "Dunkin Donuts team" a team without a center! The icing on the cake was that Jun Reyes made it to the RP team and had to do National team duties to compete in the SEA Games.  That means he will miss some games while the National team is in Malaysia. The Blue Eagles campaign to defend their title ended even before it started because the core is gone and whatever magic Coach Ogie has in his hands will be next to impossible to win it all again. That said, favored to win were FEU and La Salle who had 11 holdovers from their team last year. The Blue Eagles fought hard this season and ended up in fourth place behind eventual champion La salle, Runner-up FEU and UE.  The UAAP had gained so much popularity after the Blue Eagle’s first championship and the interest on the league soared when the Eagles met the Archers in the 1988 finals. Looking back, the move to the UAAP is definitely the right decision. Back then it was a leap of faith but because of that move, the Ateneo brought class to the UAAP and that rubbed on to the other schools. The Hail Mary squad’s fall from grace was never expected and no one dreamed that this day will happen. The Ateneo Blue Eagles 1987 – 1988 team’s quest for greatness ended here but their legacy remains in the hearts of every Atenean who supported the team and cheered one big fight!

NEXT BLOG: TWENTY YEARS AFTER

BLOG LIST

1988 SECOND SEMESTER

The 1989 RP Youth Team

ASIAN YOUTH 19 AND UNDER TOURNAMENT

The Super Sophomores Danny Francisco and Olsen Racela used the second semester to further hone their skills with one of the best High School coaches in the 1980’s Coach Ato Badolato. Coach Ato Badolato headed the team that represented the Philippines in the Asian Youth 19 and under basketball tournament with the Philippines hosting the games again from January 25 to February . The only holdover from the 1986 Silver medal team was Joselito “Joey” Guanio from the UP maroons. The others cagers that made the line-up were Olsen’s 17and under teammates Zandro “Jun” Limpot and John Edel Cardel both with La Salle and Victor Pablo of FEU. UAAP rising star, Ferdinand “Bong” Ravena of the UE Warriors, High School 7’1 sensation EJ Feihl of UST together with the NCAA stars  Vergel Meneses of JRC, Robert Ruiz of Letran and Dennis Ramirez of San Beda also made the list. Alejandro “Jojo” Lim is the lone provincial player from the University of Visayas. The team beat Singapore, India, and Iran in the eliminations stage then took care of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals but their shocking loss to Japan by two points spelled their doom. That loss led to a semifinals meeting with China that ended their quest for a gold medal. The RP team settled for the bronz by beating Japan in the battle for third. Danny and Olsen made great improvements with Danny battling the best centers of Asia including Ma Jian who he said was strong and had a good perimeter game. Olsen on the other hand held his own against Asia's best. 

 

Just before the 1st semester ended, the Ateneo de Manila issued a memo clearing Jaime Vicente "JV" Gayoso of any charges of game fixing. An adhoc committee by the school cleared Gayoso of any charges that tarnished his name by the rumors that came out after that ill fated loss to the De La Salle University Green Archers in round 1 of the 1988 UAAP Basketball tournament. The memo was signed by University President Fr. Joaquin Bernas S. J who happens to be a lawyer himself. Bernas added "Mr. Gayoso has asked to be excused from the team until the end of the UAAP campaign to avoid unforeseeable friction which might impair the effectiveness of the team in its campaign."

THE NATIONAL STUDENTS INTERCOLLEGIATE

The Ateneo Blue Eagles was invited as a guest team to the National Students Intercollegiate championship and the UAAP champs obliged because the National UAAP was scrapped. Ateneo is in Group A together with Adamson University, Perpetual Help College, Southwestern University and Misamis  Institute of Technology. Group B has defending champion De La Salle University, 1987 titlist San Sebastian College, University of Santo Tomas, Colegio de San Agustin Bacolod, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial College Davao and the University of Baguio.  There was a lot of movement in the Blue Eagles camp as Coach Fritz Gaston has resigned and Coach Chot Reyes took over for the meantime.  At this time three other players left the team for various reasons namely Alex Araneta, Jojo Habana and Rico Santiago. Mel Basa and Gene Afable’s eligilibility were questioned so Ateneo activated rookies Billy del Rosario and Darren Javier to fill the void.

 

The Blue Eagles breezed to the semifinals unscathed after beating Misamis Tech, Adamson, Perpetual Help and Southwestern University in that order to arrange a semifinals showdown with the defending champion La Salle Green Archers. Against the Archers the Blue Eagles showed their mastery over their archrivals by beating them 84 – 72. The defending champs looked like they were about to pull the rug from the Blue Eagles when they went up 66 – 62. That was when Jun Reyes led the Blue Eagles once again for a fiery 22 – 6 wind-up to dethrone the defending champions. Unfortunately, the friendly match turned to an ugly confrontation with 30 seconds left in the game. Green Archer veteran Rafa Dinglasan was called for his fifth foul and rookie Billy Del Rosario extended his hand for a handshake and unknowingly started the melee when he told Dinglasan “better luck next time!” Dinglasan acknowledged the handshake but mistook the remark as an insult and slapped Del Rosario. All hell broke loose as the benches cleared and even the supporters of both crowds mixed it up which needed the help of police to break the melee. The Blue Eagles then marched on to the finals against the unbeaten NCAA champions the San Sebastian Stags.

NATIONAL INTERCOLLEGIATE SEMIS: ATENEO 84 - DLSU 72

ATENEO (84) Nieto 21, Francisco 19, G. Reyes 15, Canlas 14, E. Reyes 10, Mendoza 5, Racela 0, Del Rosario 0,

LA SALLE (72) Sta. Maria 18, Pumaren 13, Bachman 12, Limpot 9, Dinglasan 7, Viaplana 4, Cardel 4, Monasterio 2, Lim 2,

Halftime 42 – all.

The Stags have a score to settle against the Blue Eagles as the recto based squad led by Paul Alvarez lost to the Blue Eagles last year by 32 points in the MMBL. The core of that team is back with NCAA MVP Eugene Quilban leading the Alvarez – less stags.  The Blue Eagles started the game like a team on a mission as they led by nine points 34 – 25 early in the first half. The Stags then regrouped as Melchor Teves, Stevenson Solomon and Saturnino Garrido countered with a 23 – 14 blast to tie the UAAP champs at the end of the first half.  The game was close all through out the second half and in the last one and a half minutes the Stags led the Eagles 90 -88. Jun Reyes scored on a three pointer to give the Blue Eagles the upperhand 91 – 90 and Quilban came back to score and make it 92- 91.  The Stags preserved the lead when they got the ball back with good defense and wasted the time by waiving the fouls that the Blue Eagles made. Solomon eventually scored the last point off a free throw with five seconds left to give the NCAA champions the title.  This is the only title that the Blue Eagles did not win in their two-year rise to the top of collegiate basketball. 

NATIONAL INTERCOLLEGIATE FINALS: SSC 93 – ATENEO 91

SAN SEBASTIAN (93) Quilban 20, Solomon 19, Garrido 17, Bade 9, Teves 9, Delos Reyes 8, Rivera 7, Hatton 2, Castelo 2,

ATENEO (91) G. Reyes 25, Canlas 17, E. Reyes 17, Francisco 16, Nieto 12, Racela 4, Mendoza 5, Halftime 48 - all

NEXT BLOG ENTRY: HAIL MARY FALLFROM GRACE 

BLOG LIST

THE 1988 UAAP CHAMPIONSHIP - ATENEO vs. LA SALLE

October 7, 1988, unlike the previous year, this time the team from Taft occupied more than 60% of the Rizal Memorial Coliseum but the Ateneo supporters were ready to go to war since only a barbed wire separated the green supporters from the blue believers.  Both teams came prepared with DLSU shirts with designs of “Blue Eggless – Bakling!” while the Ateneans have shirts that said “If its green flush it!” !” If there was much animosity from the crowd the players are also into it. During one of the practices of the DLSU team at the Rizal Coliseum, the Blue Eagles came early and went inside the coliseum that surprised the practicing Green Archers team. The team from taft was supposed to practice from 11am to 1pm while the Blue Eagles were from 1 pm to 3pm but Coach Fritz instructed his boys to enter the venue at 12:30 pm that prompted Coach Derrick Pumaren to stop practicing their plays and instructed his boys to go about their shooting drills instead. This irked the Lasallian team and no one was speaking to each other even though most of the players on both sides have been playing with each other since high school. 

The Blue Eagles prepared well this time and all them stayed at the Pollock Center the whole week to fend away distractions that might come. The time at Pollock Center gave them time to relax and more importantly bond together. This also gave them an opportunity to study the previously played game against the Green Archers, study the tape and map out a plan on how to win the all important championship game. The last distraction that came was that Jun Reyes got sick just before game day arrived but as a true battle tested veteran, Jun shrugged off his battle with flu and kept himself fresh before the game started.

 

Player points averages

When game time arrived the starting five of both teams were called out!

ATENEO: Jun Reyes, Mel Basa, Joseph Canlas, Eric Reyes, Danny Francisco

DE LA SALLE: Dindo Pumaren, Lincoln Lim, Teddy Monasterio, Joey Sta. Maria, Dickie Bachman.  

At the center of the court Danny Francisco and Dickie Bachmann go against each other for the jumpball that went La salle’s way as Dindo Pumaren drew first blood with a drive to the middle of their goal. Both teams battled toe to toe until Mel Basa tied the score 8 – all off a Dickie Bachmann foul. Then the Green Archers went to work as their defense made the Blue Eagles miss shots they normally make and forced them to four turnovers. The Archers then punctured the hoops with John Edel Cardel & Bachman leading the way to detonate a 13 – 3 bomb that gave the green team a ten point lead 21 – 11 with nine minutes and forty eight seconds left in the half.  After Dindo Pumaren split his charities to give the Archers their biggest lead, the Blue Eagles then regrouped and staged another amazing comeback. The Hail Mary squad choked the Green Archers on defense while Jun Reyes combined with Alex Araneta to unleash a 12 – 1 run to take the lead 23 – 22 with seven minutes and twenty seconds still remaining. When the momentum shifted to the blue side of the court the Blue Eagles  offense went to overdrive and this time Reyes combined with Danny Francisco to finish the half ahead by nine 42 – 33.  The Green Archers began to miss their shots and free throws that enabled the Blue Eagles to breakaway as the men in taft shot 5 out 15 (33.33%) free throws which was a far cry from the Ateneo’s 14 of 20 (70%).  Jun Reyes and Danny Francisco scored ten points apiece while Dindo Pumaren (who missed four free throws) had eight points. The Blue Eagles have taken the half and has just one more half to play well to enable them to snare the first back-to-back Men’s basketball championship in the UAAP. 

NEXT BLOG ENTRY:  -THE 1988 UAAP CHAMPIONSHIP – 2^nd HALF

BLOG LIST

THE 1988 UAAP SEASON – SECOND ROUND

LIFE GOES ON – THE SECOND ROUND

After much controversy on the Gayoso issue, the Blue Eagles continued the second round without their top scorer as JV skipped practices and eventually the rest of the season. What does a team do when your top scorer leaves – next man up. The next game of the Blue Eagles were the hot and cold UST Glowing Goldies and the last time these two teams met Gayoso burned them with 21 points. This time, its Mel Basa 's turn on the spotlight as he showcased his scoring abilities by netting 17 points plus the hustle he brought to the game as he combined with Jun Reyes who got 18 points himself. The result was an 86 – 75 win for the Blue Eagles that were beginning to pick up the pieces after a humiliating loss to their arch-nemesis in their previous game. The Taft based archers beat NU 76 – 65 and are tied with the Blue Eagles on top of the standings with similar 7 – 1 win loss cards. As life went on again, the Blue Eagles face the FEU Tamaraws who Gayoso previously torched with 25 points. As the men in Blue and White would say “No Gayoso, No Problem!” Jun Reyes made a basketball clinic on how a scoring point guard should be as he ran rings around the Tamaraws and clawed his way to score 32 points. In their previous game the Eagles won 106 – 97 with Gayoso, this time it was 108 – 94 without him.  Next man up – the Ateneo Blue Eagles just simply played as a well-oiled machine and no matter who they faced brought the best out of them as Joseph Canlas added 17 points, Jet Nieto scored 14 points, Danny Francisco had 12 points, Eric Reyes added 11 markers to underscore the balanced scoring once again of the men in blue.  The Eagles built their lead by outscoring the Tamaraws 17 – 2 that gave them a 51- 33 lead from a slim 34 – 31 margin. After the Eagles ended the half up by sixteen points, 53 – 37, the tamaraws could not get closer than 13 points as the Blue Eagles stamped their mastery over the team from Morayta for the second straight season. What made the win more satisfying was the upsets by UST over La Salle and the win of Adamson over UP. This gave the Blue Eagles an 8 – 1 slate and has a one game lead over the Archers (7- 2) and two games over UP 6 -3 who they will face next.

GAME 8: ATENEO vs UST 86-75

DLSU 76-NU 65, FEU 99- AdU 87,  UP 111-UE 102

ATENEO (86)  G. Reyes 18, Basa 17, E. Reyes 12, Francisco 8, Canlas 8, Mendoza 6, Nieto 5, Afable 4, Araneta 4, , Racela 2, Habana 2

UST (75) Tomacruz 18, Babilonia 15, Sichon 10, Jose 9, Latoreno 7, Mercadillo 6, Dela Cruz 5, Salvador 5, HT 40-44

ADMU, DLSU 7-1, UP 6-2, AdU FEU 4-4, UE 2-6, UST, NU 1-7,

GAME 9: ATENEO vs FEU 108-94

AdU 101 –UP 90,   UST 75-DLSU 70,  93 UE 118-NU 78

ATENEO (108)  G. Reyes 32, Canlas 17, Nieto 14, Francisco 12, E. Reyes 11, Araneta 9, Basa 7, Afable 2, Racela 2, Mendoza 2, Morales 0,

FEU (94) Postanes 23, Latoreno 22, Pablo 15, de Cruz 13, Tiu 10, Codinera 5, Guzman 4, Calungcauin 0, Gaspas 0, Burden 0, HT 53-37

ADMU(8-1) DLSU(7-2) UP(6-3) AdU (5-4 )FEU (4-5)UE(3-6),UST(2-7) NU(1-8)

MORE TROUBLE AT THE EAGLE’S NEST

After their textbook win over the hapless FEU Tamaraws, the Blue Eagles were back on track and looked like they have found a way to offset the loss of their star forward.  Next on the list are the UP Maroons, a team the Eagles blasted by 30 points in the first round looked like easy pickings for the men in blue. As the game started it was evident that the team the Eagles beat in the first round is not the same team they are facing as the Maroons who were coming from a loss against the Adamson Falcons tightened their screws and played physical all the way. This time Benjie Paras was his usual unstoppable self, Ramil Cruz their defensive anchor came out sharp while Joey Guanio and rookie Sammy Marata where both firing accurately.  With things going physical the Blue Eagles bled for their points and trailed the Maroons 28 – 40 after twenty minutes of action. To make matters worse Danny Francisco twisted his ankle and was taken out of the game. In the second half the Maroons sustained their physical defense and that defense kept the Blue Eagles from nailing easy baskets that resulted in the UP team countering every offensive attack that the Ateneans made. Coach Fritz Gaston asked Danny if he can still play and Danny said YES he was good to go!  With his ankle swollen and the leukoplast plaster taped directly to his skin Danny managed to get back but was taken out again because the other team got him in the ankle again.  All the physicality of the game took its toll because in the last 1:21 of the game with the Maroons comfortably ahead 81 – 69 when Joseph Canlas was called for a tripping foul on Sammy Marata that led to a fight between the two players.  The fight almost escalated into a free for all and while both teams were about to engage someone from the stands fired a gun. Because of that the Blue Eagles were told to go back to their dug out as their officials wanted to protect their players from any harm since the crowd watching the game was also about to engage. Coach Fritz Gaston sent word that the Blue Eagles will not continue the game and will concede to the Maroons and absorb their second loss of the season.  After the game word got out of what happened and there were speculations that the act of not continuing the game is technically a walk out and the penalty is a suspension for one year.  It was also mentioned that a suspension could materialize if the UAAP board will invoke rule #43 of the league constitution. Rule 43 states that “Any team or athlete who walks out or refuses to play for the duration of a UAAP athletic competition in that particular sport may be suspended for as long as one year in the UAAP sponsored athletic meet as may be determined by the athletic board."  The board debated on this and then commissioner Romy Fernandez said that with what happened in that game, was a fight and a gun being fired caused the Ateneo team to discontinue and concede. Fernandez proposed that Ateneo be credited with a defeat and not a forfeiture.

GAME 10: ATENEO vs UP 83-69 

DLSU 100-UE 94, FEU 99-UST 82, AdU 128-NU 91

UP (83) Paras 25, Cruz 20, Guanio 14, Marata 13, Mendoza 5, Vergara 2, Manlulo 2, Dy-Reyes 2, HT 40-28

ATENEO (69) E. Reyes 21, Canlas 15, G. Reyes 10, Francisco 10, Nieto 8, Racela 6, Mendoza 5, Araneta 2, Morales 2, Afable 0, Basa 0,

ADMU, DLSU (8-2), UP (7-3), AdU (6-4 ), FEU (5-5),UE(3-7),UST(2-8) NU(1-9)

THE REDEEM TEAM

As the board debated on the issue of the forfeiture, the Blue Eagles went back to business and faced an NU Bulldogs team minus Joseph Canlas who was serving his one game suspension after being thrown out in the game against UP. The Blue Eagles wasted no time and dispatched the Bulldogs 91- 72 with Alex Araneta as the top scorer with 21 points. Then the Blue Eagles escaped another close game against the UE warriors 81 – 78 with Eric Reyes providing the muscle by scoring 23 points. After that win, the Blue Eagles had some sigh of relief as the UAAP board met and reversed their earlier decision that the Eagles forfeited their games against the UP Maroons. Acting on the appeal of Coach Fritz Gaston, the reversal gave the Blue Eagles equal footing with the De La salle Green Archers who had 10 wins and 2 losses. The news gave the Hail Mary squad something to be happy and then they pummeled the giant killing Adamson Falcons with Danny Francisco scoring 22 points and Joseph Canlas adding 21 of his own in a masterful 90 – 73 win. La Salle ended the day by beating UP that ousted the Maroons from the finals picture. That win meant that the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers will meet in the finals of the 1988 UAAP Men’s Basketball Championship. With one more game left in the elimination round, Ateneo and La Salle  have similar 11 – 2 win loss cards and that means the last game of the eliminations between these two teams will determine what team will be twice to beat in the finals.  To others its just like having a best of three series in which the first to win two games will be declared champions.

GAME 11: ATENEO vs NU 91-77

UP 99-UST 77 DLSU 93 -FEU 90  UE 94- ADU 90

ATENEO (91) Araneta 21, Nieto 12, E. Reyes 12, Basa 9, G. Reyes 8, Afable 6,  Mendoza  6, Racela 6, Habana 5 , Santiago 2, Francisco  2, Morales 0, 

NU (72) Bautista Rey 27, Artificio 15, Edades 8, Morales 7, Wilson 7, Lascano 4, Bolado 4, Ballesteros 3. Dikono 2, Balotro 9,  HALFTIME:  45-39

ADMU, DLSU (9-2)  UP (8-3) AdU (6-5 )FEU (5-6)UE(4-7),UST(2-9) NU(1-10)

GAME 12: ATENEO vs UE 81-78 (NO BOXSCORES AVAILABLE)

GAME 13: ATENEO 90 - ADAMSON 73   

FEU 122-NU 112,  DLSU 83- UP 79, UE 94- UST 92-

ATENEO (90) Francisco 22, Canlas 21, Nieto 17, E. Reyes 12, Racela 6, Mendoza 5, Araneta 4,  Basa 3, Afable 0, Santiago 0

ADAMSON(81) Garcia 34, Orillosa 20, Yao 6, Francisco 4, Doromal 4, Cruz 3 Valdez 2, Ablaza  0, Banez 0,  Naluz 0,

HALFTIME:  46-all

ADMU, DLSU (11-2), UP (9-4), AdU (6-7 ), FEU (5-8), UE(5-8), UST(2-9), NU(1-10)

GLORY ROAD: THE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW 2.0

We have mentioned it before, that Coach Fritz Gaston was ahead of this time. In their match against the Green Archers game time will be at 12:00 noon at the Rizal memorial coliseum. In order to simulate the game the Eagles added additional practice at 12:00 noon. At the same time during the practice Coach Fritz asked that loud speakers and music be added to the Loyola Center to somewhat accustom the players to playing in a loud area. Since their first round loss, the Blue Eagles were aching to get back to the court to avenge their only loss to the Archers in the UAAP and this time they were ready.

 

Danny Francisco had 18 points and tons of rebounds

When game day arrived, the Ateneo crowd looked like it was going to the beach or pool party as they got ready to brave the heat of the oven hot Rizal Memorial coliseum that was occupied by a predominant La Salle crowd. But like in previous encounters, the Blue Babble battalion were outnumbered but never outcheered. Again, winner of this final elimination round affair will get the twice to beat advantage in the finals. Tip off came at 12:00 noon and everyone in the venue was cheering their hearts out with the blue side was chanting their “One Big Fight” and “Get that ball” cheers while the green side were answering their “D-L-S-U” and “Go La Salle” cheers that energized the players of both schools. Like in the first game the DLSU Green Archers started strong but Ateneo was just a stone’s throw away and did not give out a big lead to La Salle like in their first round encounter as La Salle took the first half 38 – 36.  The Green Archers surged ahead again at the start of the second half to take a 50 – 42 lead and was threatening to pull away. As the Green Archers surged ahead Jun Reyes, Eric Reyes and Seph Canlas helped the Blue Eagles to get back by conspiring on a 21 – 12 run that put the Blue Eagles ahead for the first time at 63- 62. From that point on both teams would battle on equal ground until Dindo Pumaren scored his final free throws in the last 25 seconds to put the Green Archers ahead 72 – 71. In the next play Jun Reyes milked the clock and in the last 8 seconds attacked the basket. As Jun drove to the right side of the goal he was met by three La Salle defenders and only God knows how he squeezed himself through those three defenders and how he eluded them since they all ganged up on him. All we saw was that the ball went through the goal, then the swish, then the roar of approval from the Blue Eagle gallery.  Dindo Pumaren lost the ball in the return play as the Blue Eagles swarming defense forced the King Archer to a turnover and gave the team from Katipunan a hard earned 73-72 win and the twice to beat advantage.

GAME 14: vs DLSU 73-72

ATENEO (73) G. Reyes 20, Francisco 18, Canlas 10, E. Reyes 10, Nieto 8,  Araneta 4, Basa 3, Racela 0, , Mendoza 0,

LA SALLE (72) PUmaren 34, Bachman 10, Lim 8, Peralta 6, sta. Maria 6, Cardel 3, Monasterio 3, Viaplana 2, Del, Rosario 0,

halftime 36-38

Ateneans celebrate after Jun Reyes' miracle shot

NEXT BLOG: THE 1988 UAAP CHAMPIONSHIP

BLOG LIST

THE 1988 UAAP SEASON - FIRST ROUND

THE PRESEASON

After the 1987 UAAP season the Blue Eagles were now ready to defend their title.  This time another champion coach comes to fold as former Blue Eagle and PBA veteran Matthew “Fritz” Gaston will be the new coach as he replaces Cris Calilan.  Last season DLSU Coach Derrick Pumaren said that Ateneo embarked on a superb conditioning program that played a vital role in the Blue Eagles title run. With the help of businessman Ernest Escaler, the Blue Eagles had their off-season training in Tagaytay and in Batangas where their conditioning was challenged and their competitive spirit at a high. In Tagaytay the team went jogging on a very steep hill that they call cardiac hill. In Batangas, the team were divided into groups of three and their order for the day was rowing. The conditioning program helped improve their lower body while rowing in Batangas helped improve their upper body strength. At the same time, the fun and excitement doesn’t end there because in the evening they will play charades and the team that loses will do extra the day after. The spirit of competitiveness has many faces and this team’s drive for excellence is so overwhelming.  There were two notable preseason games that the Blue Eagles had one against the Egyptian National team and another one against Coach Fritz Gaston’s 1976 NCAA Champion team with Steve Watson. The Blue Eagles beat the 1976 champions and the exhibition game showed that the team is ready for some roughhousing if ever.  The Egypt National team were already preparing for the 1988 Olympics in which they came out last. Nevertheless, their team had a seven footer, and a couple of players who are 6’8 and this team represented the African continent.  The Blue Eagles did not win but held their ground, was never intimidated by their much bigger and older opponents  and lost by only a couple of points. This game meant the Eagles are ready to defend their crown.  The season preview of the Blue Eagles was that they were going to repeat. Imagine, coming off one of their best seasons and losing only two players to graduation.  Nonoy Chuatico and Haj Jeongco have already used up their eligibility and replacing them are 6’4 forward- center Rico Santiago who came up from the Blue Eaglets and the ever dependable Gene Afable who took a one year leave. Twelve players return from last year’s champion team including the core of the team, Jun Reyes, JV Gayoso, Eric Reyes, Joseph Canlas, Jet Nieto, Alex Araneta, Mel Basa, Danny Francisco, Albert Mendoza, Raymund Morales, Jojo Habana and Olsen Racela. Since Fritz Gaston is now at the helm the Blue Eagles will have defense as the centerpiece of their title defense to complement the offensive firepower the Blue Eagles have. At the same time a lot of people were saying that out to crowd the Blue Eagles at the top will be their arch-nemesis the De La Salle Green Archers which they beat nine out of the ten times the two teams have met in the UAAP and outside the UAAP.

 

THE 1988 SEASON- FIRST ROUND

The 51^st UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament opened on July 16, 1988 as defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles begin their title defense against the team they beat in last year’s finals, the University of the East Warriors. The opening was held at the much bigger Araneta Coliseum and the Blue and white believers came to occupy a big chunk of the venue.  Feeling the sting of their finals meltdown last year and barely missing their prized center who graduated, the Warriors unveiled a new star in Ferdinand “Bong” Ravena who scored 10 points to lead the Recto based squad to an early 26 – 18 in the first half. The Blue Eagles then countered with JV Gayoso and Seph Canlas as the Blue Eagles caught up with the Warriors to lead the half 40 – 39. At the start of the second half the Blue Eagles went to work and showed why they were favored to repeat as they erected a fifteen-point lead 63 – 48 and everyone thought that it was going to be an opening day massacre. The Warriors then came back as Ravena rattled the ring by scoring off three pointers and slithering thru the basket and with 2:35 left in the game Coach Fritz Gaston called his first time out in the second half as the Warriors equalized 71- all.  The Blue Eagles then scored four straight points as Jun Reyes assisted a cutting Seph Canlas and Danny Francisco got the rebound off a Vilmer Banares miss to set up a Jun Reyes jumper that put the Eagles on top 75 – 71. Ravena then scored from under the basket and the last minute and twenty seconds saw a tapestry of errors which is usually commonplace in tournament openings that eventually led to an ugly Blue Eagle win.  Better than last year’s meltdown when they lost to the Maroons after leading by eleven. JV Gayoso and Jet Nieto led the Blue Eagles with 14 points apiece while Ravena scored 27 points.

GAME 1: ATENEO 75 UE 73

FEU 104-UST 97, UP 110-AdU 89, DLSU 102-NU 67

ATENEO (75) Gayoso 14, Nieto 14, Francisco 10, Canlas 9, G. Reyes 8, Racela 6, E. Reyes 6, Basa 4, Afable 2, Mendoza 2, Santiago 0,

UE (73) Ravena 27, Ve. Villarias 12, Zamar 10, Magsalin 7, Banares 6. Vic Villarias 6, Mariquit 5, Longalong 0, Hojilla 0, Ortiz 0, delos Santos 0, Namuco 0, Halftime:  40-39 

TWO MORE WINS BY THE EAGLES

The next game saw the Blue Eagles sputter once again against another familiar foe – the Adamson Falcons. This year the Falcons have added 1986 RP Youth campaigner Romulo Orillosa to their roster and together with Nandy Garcia, Jethro Doromal, Joven Banez and Teddy Naluz kept the game close until the final three minutes. Danny Francisco this time asserted his might inside the paint as he scored on eight straight points that put the Eagles up 82 – 74 with just 45 seconds to go. The Eagles went on to thwart the last ditch effort of the Falcons to beat them 84 – 81. Danny Francisco topscored with 18 points, Eric and Jun reyes had 17 and 12 respectively while Sep canlas and Jet Nieto added 10 points apiece.  Just like the previous year, the Blue Eagles started slow with their first two games and needed a boost to let loose their unforgiving offense and the game saw the Blue Eagles massacre the National University Bulldogs 106 – 58.  `That precision win enabled the Blue Eagles to clean their barrels and eventually come out with all their guns blazing in their game against another title favorite team of the league, the UP Maroons. 

GAME 2: ATENEO 84 vs ADAMSON 81

FEU 78-DLSU 74, UST90- NU 87, UP 99-UE 81

ATENEO (84) Francisco 18, E. Reyes 17, G. Reyes 12, Canlas 10, Nieto 10, Racela 7, Mendoza 4, Habana 3 , Basa 2, Santiago 1, Afable 0,

ADAMSON (81) Orillosa 15, Garcia 14, Banez 14, Doromal 12, Naluz 10, Valdez 6, yao 2, Ablaza 1Francisco 0, Cruz 0 HT43-41

ATENEO,UP, FEU 2-0, UST, DLSU 1-1, NU, UE, ADU -0-2

G3: ATENEO vs NU 106-72

UP 89-UST 74 DLSU 84-UE 69 ADU 102-FEU 93

ATENEO (106) G. Reyes 26, Nieto 20, Basa 19, Canlas 8, Francisco 7, E. Reyes 7, Racela 7, Mendoza 4, Santiago 4, Morales 4, Afable 0,  Habana 0,

NU (72) Bautista 14, Rey 14, Balotro 9, Lascano 6, Wilson 4, Tan 4, Edade 4, Morales 2, Bolado 2, Artificio 0, ht57-32

ATENEO,UP, 3-0, FEU  , DLSU 2 -1, AdU, UST  1-2 NU, UE, -0 - 3

MASSACRE AT RIZAL

The Blue Eagles started the game with unending hustle on defense and a superb running game on offense and by the time the first half ended the Blue Eagles were up 49 – 31 and the Maroons did not know what hit them.  The Maroons managed to cut the deficit to 11 points 40 – 51 behind a 9-2 start of the second half, but they were not able to sustain their offense and the men in Blue and White just kept on coming and the result was an 88 – 58 murder of the Maroons. Jet Nieto and Jun Reyes led the onslaught by scoring 23 and 18 pooints respectively while Olsen Racela had 15 points and JV Gayoso added 11 as the Eagles limited Benjie Paras to 15 points after averaging 23 points in his first three games. The win made the Blue Eagles the only undefeated team and were up 4 – 0 with UP and DLSU tied at 3 – 1.  After that more than convincing win against the maroons the Blue Eagles went to town by scoring two more convincing wins. Their next victim was the team that beat them in the first round last year- the UST Glowing Goldies. The combined offensive spurts of JV Gayoso (21 pts) ,  Jet Nieto (20 pts), Danny Francisco (18 pts), Jun Reyes (11 pts) and Eric Reyes (10 pts) were no match for the undermanned UST Glowing Goldies as the Eagles took the fight to the Espana squad and prevailed with no east 94 – 87.  Their next victims were the FEU Tamaraws and the Eagles were very eager to beat the team that has beaten a lot of Blue Eagle teams in the past. The team from Katipunan were in total control of the game as the troika of JV Gayoso, Jet Nieto and Jun Reyes were unstoppable as the three scored 25, 22, and 20 points respectively and were not to be denied their sixth straight win with this 106 – 97 beating of the team from Morayta.

GAME 4: ATENEO 88 vs UP 58

DLSU 71-UST66, ADU 102 –NU 94,UE 74 – FEU 73

ATENEO (88) Nieto 23. G. Reyes 18, Racela 15, Gayoso 11, Francisco 7, Canlas 6, E. Reyes 4, Mendoza 2, Araneta 2, Afable 0,

UP (58) Guanio 16, Paras 15, Vergara 7, Manlulo 6, Cruz 6, Marata 5, DyReyes 2, Pineda 1, Mendoza 0, manuel 0, Santos 0, Arroyo 0, Halftime: 49-31

DLSU 71-UST 66, Adamson 102 – NU 94, UE 74 FEU 73

GAME 5: ATENEO vs UST 94-87

DLSU 77-UP 75, FEU 99- NU 89, dU 78-UE 76

ATENEO (94)  Gayoso 21, Nieto 20, Francisco 18, G. Reyes 11, E. Reyes 10, Racela 8, Canlas 6, Mendoza 0, Santiago 0, Morales 0,

UST (87) Babilonia 32, Tomacruz 14, Sichon 12, Salvador 11, Santos 7, Mercadillo 5, Jose 4, Latoreno 2, HT 51-42

ATENEO, 5-0, DLSU 4-1 FEU, UP, 3 -2, AdU 3-2, UST, UE  1-4 NU, 0 - 5

GAME 6: ATENEO 94  vs FEU 87

UE 100-UST 89, DLSU 93-AdU 81, UP  92- NU 90

ATENEO (106)  Gayoso 21, Nieto 20, Francisco 18, G. Reyes 11, E. Reyes 10, Racela 8, Canlas 6, Mendoza 0, Santiago 0, Morales 0,

FEU (97) Postanes 21, de Guzman 21, Cruz 17, Tiu 15, Latoreno 9, Pablo 7, Flores 5, Codinera 2, Burden 0, HT 50-44

ADMU(6-0) DLSU(5-1) UP(4-2) FEU, AdU (3-3) UE(2-4),UST(1-5) NU(0- 6)

THE CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW 1.0

The Blue Eagles have racked up six wins and twenty straight if you count the fourteen from last year and are favored to give their next opponents a royal beating – the De La Salle Green Archers. The team from Taft have been making a lot of noise since day 1 and were poised to crowd the defending champions at the top since their team is more matured at this point and they recruited well with John Edel Cardel, George Peralta, Jonas Mariano, Lincoln Lim and Jun Limpot to add more fire to their team. People packed the Rizal Memorial coliseum by mid-afternoon and traffic along Taft avenue and Vito Cruz was at a standstill while the scalpers were having a field day.   The Ateneo vs. De La Salle first round encounter was the battle of the National UAAP Champion and the National Inter-Collegiate champion and when the ball was tossed at the center court the Rizal Coliseum was ready to explode.  The Green Archers arrows where sharp at the start of the game as National Team point guard Dindo Pumaren connived with steady Teddy Monasterio and new recruit Lincoln Lim to grab a 20 – 12 lead in the early goings of the first half. The Blue Eagles were caught flat-footed and their offense had a hard time starting as they played catch up against the Green Archers and when Jet Nieto’s offense started to hum, the team from Katipunan cut the deficit at the halftime break 37 – 32. The Blue Eagles worked overtime mostly through Jet Nieto’s timely hits as they finally equalized the score 53 – all with less than 10 minutes to play.  This time it was Joey Sta. Maria and rookie John Edel Cardel combining to give the Green Archers much more breathing room they needed come crunch time. The Green Archers pounded the Blue Eagles with balanced scoring and good defense and by the time the last two minutes came the team from Taft was comfortably ahead by seven points 78 – 71. The last ditch effort by the men in blue came short as the men in green this time came out victorious and the La Salle supporters that occupied more than 70% of the coliseum were jubilant of their first victory against the Blue Eagles in the UAAP 78 – 76. The first round ended with both Ateneo and La Salle having similar slates of six wins and one loss.

 

GAME 7: ATENEO vs DLSU 76-78

AdU 112-UST 110, NU 90-UE 89, UP 95-FEU 91.

LA SALLE (78) Pumaren 19, sta. Maria 15, Cardel 10, Peralta 9, Bachman 7, Monasterio 6, Lim 6, Mariano 4, Del Rosario 2, Viaplana 0,

ATENEO (76) Nieto 25,   Francisco 12, Gayoso 8,  G. Reyes 8, E. Reyes 8, Racela 6, Canlas 5, Araneta 4, Mendoza 0,

Halftime 37-32

ADMU, DLSU 6-1, UP 5-2, AdU 4-3,FEU 3-4, UE 2-5, UST, NU 1-6,

TROUBLE AT THE EAGLE’S NEST

After the heartbreaking loss to the Green Archers, there was some disturbing news that until now continues to haunt the 1988 team. Trouble emanated from the fact that JV Gayoso played poorly in the game against La Salle. Prior to that game, JV averaged 18 points per game and even had 25 against FEU in their previous game, but against La Salle he only had eight points and even missed a lay-up wherein he was all alone.  Now people were putting things together and were saying that since JV played for La Salle for one year that there was more to it than him having a bad game. Noting that the Blue Eagles lost by two points those two points from his missed lay-up mattered and the Ateneo community was hurt with a lot of fake  news going on.  Sometimes things get out of hand coming off a loss that not only hurt the team but the community as well. Losing to La Salle then was unheard of and there has to be someone to blame and everyone's accusing finger turned to JV. I asked other people in the team about it and all I told was that the team met about this, were affected by the news and there was a big misunderstanding on that dubious accusation. I was told then that it was a team concern and will be addressed at the proper time. Since I was friends with most of the team members I left if like that and respected their decision. That is a matter that the team members will address themselves. Note: I did not dig any deeper since the purpose of this blog is to remember the good things of that era and open wounds. 

NEXT BLOG ENTRY: THE 1988 UAAP SEASON - SECOND ROUND

BLOG LIST