By: Jerod Orcullo
After a successful run in last year’s special exhibition event, Paolo Medina and the Ateneo Blue Eagles are back to defend their crown as the UAAP Season 87 NBA 2K tournament officially tips off this Tuesday at the Quantum Skyview Deck, Gateway 2 Mall in Quezon City.
Keeping their championship roster intact, Medina is determined to bring the trophy back to Katipunan now that the Esports tournament has been fully integrated into the UAAP calendar.
“We are very dedicated and focused on going back-to-back in this tournament. Our goal is to repeat as champions, and I believe with this new team-style format, we’ll be very hard to beat,” shared Medina.
So committed is Medina to their title defense that he even cut short a vacation in Japan to get extra practice ahead of the tournament’s start.
“My teammates and I are all graduating and I didn’t want to miss a single opportunity to be on stage with my team and defend this championship,” he told Tiebreaker Times.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
While Medina brings championship experience to the court, he acknowledged that their competition has significantly improved. Still, he remains confident in Ateneo’s growth and preparation under the guidance of eGilas head coach Nite Alparas.
With this season’s tournament shifting from NBA 2K24 to 2K25, Medina pointed out the differences in gameplay, particularly in scoring, which he believes could become a deciding factor in close matchups.
“I think the skill gap is wider too this year, as the new tempo shooting feature paired with the ‘high-risk shooting’ option allows for players to make tough, contested, difficult shots as long as you time it perfectly. I think this could be the difference in terms of getting far in the tournament, if you’re able to consistently make your shots.”
To adapt to these changes, Medina shared that Alparas had them compete in various online tournaments to sharpen their skills against top-level opponents.
“We joined an online MyLeague called the All Filipino Cup and here the top competitive Filipino players compete, and we were able to learn a lot of things such as adjusting in-game… just getting used to that feeling that every single possession is a war,” he said.
“We put all our trust in our efforts and our coach. We know how to read the game and adjust on the fly if needed. We trust our instincts, but as soon coach notices something we don’t, we do it with no question.”
Ateneo will begin their title defense with a rematch against De La Salle University at 2:30 p.m.
