Last Wednesday, the Ateneo Blue Eagles achieved what only a few have done in the Final Four-era of the UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The feat? An elimination round sweep.
For starters, only the Season 56 UST Growling Tigers team and the Season 70 UE Red Warriors have achieved a 14-0 run in the elimination round.
“Sarap. Sarap sa feeling.
“Actually, ngayon lang namin nalaman na history pala. Akala ko may nakagawa na before. We’re just blessed, but the mission isn’t done yet. Fourteen wins don’t mean a thing without a ring. We’re just hungry for more,” said Ateneo floor general Matt Nieto after their 86-64 win over UP.
However, no team has yet completed a 16-0 sweep. UST was automatically declared the champions in 1993, while UE lost to La Salle in the Finals back in 2007.
No one knows how hard it is to sweep a season more than the Nieto twins and SJ Belangel. Back during their time in Ateneo High School, they almost achieved it only to lose one game in the Finals.
This time though, they are mature enough to know the trap of complacency brought about by a flawless state heading into the last stage of the tournament.
“‘Yung complacency iiwasan mo lagi since ‘yun, nung juniors ako, ‘yun ‘yung laking natutunan namin eh, nung natalo kami,” recalled Belangel, who, together with Geo Chiu and Jason Credo, lost Game Two of the Finals to NU before winning the Season 80 crown.
“Hindi kami naglaro as a team, tapos masyado kaming relaxed. Nag-focus kami lalo sa referee kaysa sa team namin.”
“Of course, it’s a fact that we lost Game One [sic] when we were in high school. Ayaw lang naming maulit ‘yun. I think we’re more experienced now than we were in high school,” added Mike Nieto, who fell to NU in Game One alongside brother Matt and Gian Mamuyac, before winning it all back in Season 77.
This time around, though, the trio have Tab Baldwin steering them. To avoid any let-ups during their prep for the Finals, the decorated tactician plans to have “some fun” with his team.
“We know how to work hard. There are no questions about that. And we know how to enjoy each other’s company. We need to cherish these three weeks and we need to be productive in these three weeks,” said Baldwin.
“I’m really confident that we can build a better basketball team that we have with this time, so that’s what we’re gonna do. I don’t think there’s a question about managing it. We’re gonna go to practice and we’re gonna improve,” he continued.
“These other teams are gonna slug it out. There is an argument that those games keep their sharp and fresh, but we’ll be sharp. I don’t have any doubt that we will fall off our game.”
More importantly, the trio have matured compared to their juniors days. Whether it’s enough to get that historical full sweep remains to be seen.
