Coffee and Blue

Gear up!

coffeeandblue — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:07:15 +0000

21 hours before game 2 of the UAAP Season 71 Finals. Go Ateneo!

Little Miss Blue Eagle

coffeeandblue — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:51:21 +0000

Saw this really cute baby girl inside the venue (just next to our seat). I tried to take a picture of her when all of a sudden, she caught me. Instead of hiding, she held her cheering props up and showed a number 1 sign using her other hand. During the game, she wore her Olser Racela Ateneo Jersey. Olsen Racela’s jersey number during his stint in Ateneo was 17, the same number used by Chris Tiu.

Immersion with the scalpers

coffeeandblue — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:33:05 +0000

Sept 22
Ticket-hunting Part II

While waiting for the game to start (We got inside Araneta at around 12 noon; Game 1 of the Finals starts at 4 pm), I called TicketNet to inquire about the selling of tickets for the next game. I was told that tickets will be released the next day after the game, Sept 22 at the yellow gate. The TicketNet booth will open at 9 am. I and some friends agreed to stay overnight in Araneta since we knew how hard it is to get tickets. Game 1 tickets which were sold last Sept 15 got sold out in just 3 hours and it was said that people were already lined up as early as 4 am. We all went home to have some rest and take a bath. It was around 11 when I arrived in CBTL in front of the Yellow Gate, our designated meeting place. To our surprise, a lot of people were already in front of the gate – mostly, scalpers. How did we know? They’re identifiable. It’s actually easy to tell whether someone is a scalper or not, unless otherwise disproved. In our estimate, there were about more than a hundred (or probably more than 200) persons roaming around the vicinity of the yellow gate. Only about 10 of those seemed to be students/alumni. Quoting the entry I made last year about scalpers: “They come in groups and I assume that they bring, if not the whole baranggay (exaggeration), their whole family to line up for the tickets. They do this to be able to buy and sell more since the TicketNet usually implements a 2 ticket per person policy during the release date of the tickets.”

There are two major rules implemented by TicketNet in selling UAAP and NCAA Finals tickets:

A maximum of two (2) tickets can be bought by a customer
The customer must be able to present a school ID or an authorization letter if he/she is a representative or proxy of a student/alumnus/alumnae

For scalpers, there’s no problem with rule number 1. But for rule number 2, I was wondering how they’ll be able to present a valid school ID. Where in the world will they get ID’s? One possible solution: RECTO. I was told by my friend that he saw one scalper with an envelop full of ID’s. What the F?! Clap clap for these professional scalpers. Amazing. I then told my friends that I’ll wander around to see how things are going. People were scattered everywhere. All of a sudden, everyone rushed towards the gate. I quickly ran too and found myself in front of everyone. Only 2 persons were ahead of me. I then called my friends so that they can insert in the place I got. A security crew member then came out and told everyone to leave. Our group, being Ateneans with good morality and exercising fairness, followed him and waited for the right time to line up. Apparently, everyone else didn’t care. Every time the security crew member left, they all went back in front of the gate. At around 12:30 am, a man in light blue long-sleeve polo carrying a megaphone and 2 security guards came and asked everyone to fix the line. A friend of mine heard a security guard say “Hayaan na ‘yan. ‘Yan naman gusto nila eh.” That move resulted to a commotion. People started to insert to anywhere they could. I left the line since everyone was pushing one another. A friend of mine even got stuck in the middle of a group of scalpers. We suddenly found ourselves at the back of the line. It turned out that the resistance made by the scalpers earned them the reward of being the first in line. How ironic, isn’t it?

We were then asked to form a single line. When the line got settled, we accepted how things went out and just hoped that we can still get tickets when the gate opens. While trying to entertain ourselves with mobile phones, iPods, cards, newspapers and a nihonggo practice book, we noticed this man in a checkered polo roaming around. He was talking to a group of people who were in the line and also to the man in light blue long-sleeved polo, who we assumed then, as the head of the security. I heard this man say to a group of scalpers “Dapat ‘di kayo naghiwahiwalay.” What does that mean? This guy must be the head of the scalpers. A man in an Adidas Ateneo Tee was also busy talking to those who were in the line. The business must have been so good that he was able to buy an Adidas Ateneo Tee. No offense, but it’s safe to assume that he’s also one of the Master Scalper who asked these people to fall in line in exchange of. most likely, money. (Side note: Thinking in the level of their business, having an Ateneo or La Salle Apparel or at least good clothes are investments for them. Being well dressed would save them from being suspected as scalpers. Just like Mr. Mustached Man in Checkered Polo and Guy in Ateneo Shirt). It’s logical to assume that these people who were lining up are there to buy tickets, perhaps, in-exchange for a small amount that these “bosses” of theirs promised them. Keeping things according to definition, scalpers are those who resell tickets for a higher amount; those who are lining up to buy tickets aren’t always scalpers. Analogy: Some do their thing for an “employer” and gets paid while some prefer to be “self-employed.” Having clearly defined what scalpers are, might as well give those who work for them, by lining up, a name. I’ll call them the liners.

So going back, the man in checkered polo kept on roaming around and talking to several groups of liners. I took some pictures of him secretly just in case we need to show an authority his picture. I was keeping myself busy watching a movie in my iPod. Instead of keeping myself awake by watching a movie, I got sleepy so I decided to take coffee. I went to a 24-hour convenience store and grabbed a can of coffee and quickly came back. I passed by the group of scalpers who were in front of us and saw bodies scattered all around. People were sleeping on the floor without anything under them – not even newspaper. Just pure floor. I even saw a lady having her baby breastfed while staying there in the line. For a moment, I felt pity for them. But I took it back. Why pity these people who take advantage of the students and alumni who are sacrificing their time, health, security, and effort just to get a ticket or two, to watch and support their teams in a basketball game? Most of the men in the line are even built with a body which can give them work. Not all of them seemed helpless. “F.Y.” to those who let them do it. And “F.Y.” to those who do it.

At around 3 am, 3 of my company went to a nearby 24-hour fast food chain to buy some food. 3 of us were left in the line to secure our place. When they came back, they told us that Master Scalper in Adidas Ateneo Tee was there in the store “auditing” his sales. Angkapal. I decided to walk around to stretch some numb muscles. A guy in white shirt with a number 81 in his shirt then asked me where the end of the line is. Since the line wasn’t really a single straight line (it was actually a single line turned to “S” so that the line wouldn’t reach the nearby stores), I answered him “…somewhere in the middle of that piled up people.” He asked me, “Pwede sama na lang ako sainyo? ” I told him “Binabantayan ng mga tao kung sino nasa likod at harap nila. So malamang di ka basta-basta makakapasok.” In fairness to the guy, he doesn’t seem to look like a scalper. But sticking to our group’s principle of ensuring that no one gets to insert into the line, I didn’t let him in. At around 4:30 am, the guy in light blue long-sleeve polo carrying a megaphone came back and asked everyone to stand up and fix the line. The “S line” was straightened. Mr. 81 quickly ran and inserted himself into the line. He pretended that he was with us. One of my friends, knowing that he wasn’t part of the line and definitely not part of our group was making “parinig” but he doesn’t seem to be affected. As a strategy of not getting himself kicked out of the line, he opened up conversations to as many persons as he could while establishing his place in the line – most of those who he was talking to? Those which I call, the liners. “Angkapal. Anggaling. Ibang level,” said my friends. As time went by, little by little, the single line multiplied. We were the only ones noticing and voicing out how unfair things are turning out. I noticed that the number of people in front of us is piling up. I was able to identify 2 persons who weren’t really part of the line. I was saying “Wag naman sumingit. Kagabi pa kami dito tapos ngayon bigla lang kayo sisingit.” A friend of mine followed up with “Oo nga, maawa naman kayo sa mga nasa likod nyo.” Mr. Mustached Man in Checkered Polo then came to me and said “Mga bata ko yan, wag nyong papagalawin yan.” He was tapping my shoulder while saying that probably thinking that I’ll get scared. Well, I didn’t. I answered back “Wala akong pakialam. Bata bata… Pila pinaguusapan dito.“

It was quarter past 5. The sun was coming out; Mr. Mustached Man in Checkered Polo was still wandering around; Master Scalper in Ateneo Shirt was standing still in front of the line; Mister 81 still extending his network with a number of liners. We’re all tired. 4 more hours of waiting before the gate opens. I can’t anymore see the single line. The guy in blue long-sleeve polo with a megaphone came and asked everyone to rise up. I asked him if he could do something about those who weren’t part of the line. He said, NBI agents will come to have everything fixed. The scalpers don’t seem to be scared even if they heard that NBI agents were coming. Then Mr. Mustached Man in Checkered Polo said “Ewan ko kung pano aayusin ni pare ko yan.” He was referring to the guy in blue long-sleeve polo with a megaphone. Mr. Mustached Man in Checkered Polo must be a friend of the guy in blue long-sleeve polo with a megaphone. Looks like something is cooking here.

It was nearly 9 am. A policeman was there to make things organized. However, the presence of the policeman doesn’t seem to bother anyone. The gate finally opened and everyone was pushing one another. At around 9:30, upper A tickets were sold out! The best we could have are upper B tickets, the least would be general admission tickets. There was this group of men in front of us who were trying to insert themselves into the line. We were telling those in front of us not to let them in. As we get nearer and nearer to the gate, the tension was rising between our group and this group of men. My friend said, “Mahiya naman kayo!” They answered back, “Wala kami nun!” I then said, “Buti alam nyo!” One of them responded and said, “Pak yu!” I got really pissed off and I shouted, “It’s FUCK! not PAK!” A friend followed up with a few lines of her own. I then saw a group of guys smile at us. The organizers approached us and asked us to point out who weren’t part of the line. We identified them one by one and the organizer asked the guy in blue long sleeve polo to make them leave. The guy in blue long sleeved polo simply asked them, “O, may mga ID ba kayo? Ayusin nyo na linya nyo.” Mr. Mustached Man in checkered polo then approached me, again, tapping my shoulder and said, “Hayaan nyo na yang mga yan at nasa pila talaga yan.” What the F!?! We all came into conclusion, “Magkasabwat nga sila.” (Mr. Mustached man and the guy who was facilitating the line (guy in blue long-sleeve polo). Again, we tried to get help from the organizers inside the yellow gate. We said “Wala naman pong ginawa yung security.” He then said, “Paalisin mo yan. Di mo kaya paalisin?” The guy in light blue long-sleeve polo was forced to let the group of men leave. One of the guys who smiled at us when we were asking help from the security then approached us and said “Guys, mag-ingat kayo. Galit na galit na.” I then saw the group of men who were asked to leave the line, having a conversation among them. I asked the one who warned us if he could help us. He asked, “Mga Atenista ba kayo?” We all answered “YES!” He then said, “Kami bahala sainyo.” It felt really great. They moved along with us as we get nearer and nearer the entrance of the TicketNet booth, getting our group away from those group of men who were asked to leave. We finally got our tickets. But right outside the gate were the group of men whom we were able to dispose from the line. They might be thinking pay-back. We waited for everyone in our group (3 young men and 3 young ladies all of whom are Ateneans) and asked permission from the TicketNet organizers if we could stay inside the gate until we’re able to figure out a way to get out of Araneta. We were allowed to stay inside. The organizers told us that they’ll be calling a police to escort us out of the Araneta. We were all scared of what could possibly happen should we come out by ourselves. Around quarter past 10, a policeman came and escorted us out and guarded us until we were able to find cab. We split into 2 groups since cabs can only take a maximum of 4 passengers. We went straight to Ateneo for us to be secured. We made sure that no one was able to follow us. While on our way to Ateneo, one of my company said, “Well bonded na tayo. Ibang experience ‘to.” I simply said, “Oo nga.”

It was one hell of an experience for all of us. A lot of lessons learned. A lot of emotions felt. Brotherhood realized with those alumni. Ateneans sticking to their principles. We fought against the system which eats the weak. We all stood as better men and women after this day.

Note: We got ourselves 2 Upper B tickets each. The group of men who were forced to leave the line were about 7. Upper B tickets are sold for Php 2000 each by scalpers so that’d be a 14,000 Peso loss for the scalpers. The 6 of us are still in danger in Cubao. Need to be really careful come game day. Gonna post an entry after that day to let everyone know I still exist. I always see the person I named “Master Scalper in Ateneo Shirt” every game day. There was this guy (he was gay) in front of us also wearing an Ateneo shirt who “proxied” Ken Baraccoso. My friend, T-Jay, told me that the guy always watches games and is an avid supporter of Jobe. Game 2 of the Finals is on Thursday, Sept 25, 2008. Awarding of individual awards will start at 3:30 pm and game 2 of the finals starts at 4 pm.

Season 71 UAAP Finals

coffeeandblue — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Sept 20, 2008
The Hype

It has been 6 long years since the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the De La Salle Green Archers faced each other in the most highly coveted collegiate crown in the country. It has also been 6 years since the Ateneo last held UAAP basketball glory. Much hype has been given to this finals match up and there would be no better way of supporting the A-team than be there cheering for the blue and white.

Ticket-hunting

2 days prior to game day, I called TicketNet and asked if they will be releasing SRO tickets for Sunday’s game. The one I talked to when I called told me that SRO tickets will be available 4 hours before the game and that they’ll be releasing Upper A and B tickets. A friend and I agreed to fall in line at the red gate at around 4 am of Sunday to be sure that we’ll be able to get tickets. One person can only get one ticket so we need to make sure that we get there early so that well be ahead of others who’d fall in line, especially scalpers who come in groups. To be able to come as early as I can, I decided to stay overnight in a friend’s house in Cubao. Staying there would not only save me travel time but also spare me from all the hassle and danger of traveling from makati to cubao via bus so early in the morning. I went to cubao Saturday night. I passed by TicketNet to confirm the SRO ticket selling the next day (Yeah. Good thing they were open that late. Thanks to the APO Concert). When I asked the lady at the TicketNet outlet, she told me that they’ll be only releasing 500 General Admission SRO tickets. WTF! I suddenly had second thoughts wether to line up as early as 4am and even thought of just watching the game on TV. I decided to just take my chance and go there at around 10 am. If I’ll be able to get a ticket, then good; if not, I’ll settle for TV. Anyways, it wasn’t much of an effort.

Sept 21
Chances and Triumph

I woke up around 9 am. So I still got an hour to prepare and travel from Santolan to Cubao. Via 13th Ave, it’ll take me only about 10 to 15 minutes to go to the Araneta Center. I got a message from a friend that he’d be going to Araneta to line up for the SRO tickets. He got ahead of me so he secured a place for me in the line. As I planned, I got to Araneta at around 10 am. TicketNet Outlet doesn’t open ’til 11:30 am. So we still have an hour and a half to waste and more time to waste to wait for our chance to get our tickets. We were fortunate to be part of the 500 SRO ticket grantees and at around 12 noon, we were able to get our ticket and enter the venue. The game starts at 4:00 pm. So another 4 hours of waiting. As the time passed, more and more people are piling up every section of the Araneta Colesium. Shortly, the Blue Babble Battalion, armed with their drums and sticks, came and started to bang up their drums giving life to the blue side of the Big Dome. The game started at quarter past 4 and about 2 hours later, the army of blue came triumphant.

Unity Amidst The Rivalry

coffeeandblue — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:29:00 +0000

Kudos! UAAP Season 70 Individual Awards

coffeeandblue — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 01:09:00 +0000

Jr Men’s Rookie of the Year – Dave Curt De Guzman, UE

Jr. Men’s Mythical 5:
Juan Miguel Tiongson (PG), ADMU
John David Dumrique (G), ADMU
Joshua David Webb (F), DLSZ
Kevin Michael Batac (F), NU
Mark Jovet Mendoza (C), NU
Jr. Men’s MVP – Samuel Jose Marata UP

PSBank Maasahan Award – Jervy Cruz (C), UST
KFC Best Assist Delivery Award – John Paul Cuan (PG), UST
Smart Defensive Player of the Year – Edwin Asoro (F), NU

Sr. Men’s Rookie of the Year – Ricardo Cawaling Jr. (F), FEU
Sr. Mens Mythical 5:
Joseph Evans Casio (G), DLSU
Christopher Tiu (G), ADMU – represented by brother Charles
Mark Anthony Borboran (F), UE
Paul Rico Maierhofer (F), DLSU
Jervy Cruz (C), UST
Sr. Men’s MVP – Jervy Cruz (C), UST

Tickets? Anyone?

coffeeandblue — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 12:33:00 +0000

Would you buy a ticket which originally costs 70 pesos for a thousand bucks? Well for an Atenean or a La Sallite who are god damn crazy to watch the most crucial games of the season, they would. As Season 70 of the UAAP nears it finale, the scalping industry has also been reaching its peak. I’ve watched the last 4 games of the Ateneo Blue Eagles live at the Araneta, starting from the playoff game against the De La Salle Green Archers. I bought 2 Upper B tickets then for Php200 each. Knowing how difficult it is to get tickets for the playoff match, I quickly bit on the offer. Besides, at 200 pesos, it’s a lot cheaper compared to the real scalper price. A scalper will usually offer an Upper B La Salle-Ateneo Game ticket for 500 pesos. And that 500 peso Upper B ticket is good for the elimination round. During the game day of the playoff match between La Salle and Ateneo, scalpers were offering Upper B tickets for a minimum price of 800. You’re still a bit lucky if you can negotiate the price and have it lower than the said amount. Upper A tickets which originally costs Php 120 are being sold up to 2000 pesos. And the price of these tickets still depends on what is at stake during games.

But aren’t you surprised how these scalpers get so many tickets? Well, here’s the thing, scalpers usually line up at the yellow gate as early as a day before the release date of the tickets. They usually stay overnight so that they’ll be ahead of everyone. They come in groups and I assume that they bring, if not the whole baranggay (exageration), their whole family to line up for the tickets. They do this to be able to buy and sell more since the TicketNet usually implements a 2 ticket per person policy during the realease date of the tickets. Aside from the actual release date of the tickets, TicketNet also releases SRO or standing-room-only tickets during the actual game day. For SRO tickets, TicketNet implements a 1 ticket per person policy which simply means that you really have to sacrifice lining up as early as you can to be able to get your ticket. And lining up there gives you no assurance that you’ll be able to get one since SRO tickets are limited and a large number of tickets has already been sold. The host university decides if SRO tickets will be released and so you have to wait until the host school decides if it’s a yes or a no. So far, I haven’t experienced lining up there for SRO tickets ending up as a loser (Getting a “No SRO decision” from the Host School or getting short on ticket supplies).

During the semis match between Ateneo and La Salle, I relied on SRO tickets for me to watch the game live at the Araneta Colesium. I even skipped office for me to go there as early as I can knowing that fellow supporters plus damn-sclapers will be lining up for tickets. I got there at around 9:00am and Gawd, the line was already very long. A night before the release of SRO tickets, scalpers already camped out outside Araneta. So even if you go there as early as 7:00am, a bunch of scalpers are already there. After seeing how long the line was, I went to the red gate to check if gen ad tickets are still available. I’ll get some just to make sure that I’ll be able to watch the game live even if it’s really far (pasiguro lang). But I’ll still line up for the SRO Upper B tickets (baka sakali lang). Well it’s always baka sakali lang if you’re lining up for SRO Tix. Going back, while waiting for the TicketNet to open (at 12:00 nn, 2 and a half hours of waiting, ugh!), I noticed some scalpers talking to a group of students. “Naaawa ako sainyo. Ambabata nyo pa naghihirap kayo pumila dyan eh wala naman kayong makukuha nang ticket dyan,” said one scalper. While they were trying to sell their tickets to those students, 1 scalper approached me offering me an Upper B ticket for 800 and immediately I said “No,” with conviction. Hahaha! They were roaming around trying to find some rich, lazy studs ready to spoil themselves for some gold-plated tickets from scalpers. Ahead of me at the line was a bald kid in plain street clothes who I assume as another scalper trying to find a living from reselling tickets. Gawd they’re everywhere! For god’s sake, will there be an Atenean or a La Sallite who would watch a game in sando and slippers? No offense but it’s really obvious if one person is a scalper. I asked 1 security at the Araneta during the 1st semis game between Ateneo and La Salle, “Pwede nyo bang hulihin yang mga scalper?” He answered me “Di pwede pwera kung may ebidensya.” Actually it was a good point but as I was observing, they’re doing nothing to catch these scalpers. Some are even friends of the security in Araneta. So this simply means that stopping these scalpers is close to impossible.

The good thing about lining up there is you get to meet new friends! Hahaha! I got 2 new friends from UST who supported the Ateneo after they were defeated in the 3-4 knockout match. In game 2, I met 2 La Sallites and an Ateneo alumnus who owned a resto in Baguio (Angles). This is what UAAP does! Hahaha! And they were the greatest compliments for me during the seemingly endless and super tiring ticket-hunting days.

Going back, scalpers usually are on a hype during Ateneo and La Salle games. To make things easy, if no one will buy, no one will sell. But it’s much more difficult to eliminate the lazy students who are making their money line up for them. And with the scalper rates, only the rich ones (plus the lazy ones) can buy tickets. The TicketNet admin should do something about this. A lot of suggestions have been given like a 90-10 policy wherein 90% of the tickets would be given to the competing schools and only 10% would be given to TicketNet just to make sure that students of the competing schools will be accomodated and also to lessen the scalping industry. The problem is it would be unfair to those who can not go to campus to acquire tickets especially alumni who are working. And what’s worse is tickets being sold inside the campus can still be “scalped.” I heard one story that there was one DLSU employee (with all respect to DLSU, the information that the scalper was a DLSU employee was only assumed) who gets tickets from the campus and resells it higher than the original price. If this is happening, then there’s no way of completely eliminating the scalping industry. The major solution here is do not support the scalping industry. As I mentioned earlier, if no one will buy, no one will sell. Or better yet, we have what we call TV.

Ateneo Blue Eagles – Looking Forward

coffeeandblue — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:13:00 +0000

It’s a been a hell of a season for the Blue Eagles – Hell for falling to the Green Archers. But think about it, nobody expected the Blue Eagles to even get to the Final 4 (except for the Ateneo community of course who always believed, animo Ateneo!). The team didn’t have the same talent as compared to last year’s roster. Talking about individual talents, Ateneo is far behind from what the Green Archers and the Red Warriors have in their team.

It was a roller coaster ride for Team Ateneo; dropping down some crucial games which could have lessen the burden in at least reaching the finals. But the buttom line is, they’ve proven to be a lot stronger than what people thought. “If you look at the overall picture, the team achieved more than what people expected us to achieve,” said Coach Norman Black.

It’s the last season for Ford Arao and Zion Laterre. And even if they weren’t able to carry the Blue Eagle Team to the finals, they’ve proven much for themselves. They were solid contributors in each of the games that the Blue Eagles played. Ford Arao was the biggest surprise this season. After losing Doug Kramer, Ford Arao stepped up big time giving Ateneo a solid big man who contributed both on the offensive and defensive side. Another big man should step up next season for the Ateneo. A low-post player would certainly help Ateneo in their offensive flow opening up the wings for our shooters. Zion Laterre’s intensity and high leaping ability will surely be missed by the team.There’s next season to look forward to for the Blue Eagles. The Ateneo Blue Eagles have four graduating players who can still opt to use their last year of eligibility in the UAAP – Chris Tiu, Yuri Escueta, Ken Barracoso, and Jobe Nkemakolam. I expect Yuri, Ken, and Jobe to still sport the blue and white jerseys next season. Although things could still change depending on the direction the team or the players would like go. If ever Ken suits up, it would be his last chance to prove himself to everyone. Everyone expects him to show his A-Game all throughout season 71. As for Chris Tiu, it’s still uncertain if he would be coming back. The Ateneo Community even had to convince him to suit up for seaon 70. Chris Tiu’s presence would mean a lot in their quest for their second UAAP crown. But I wouldn’t care much if he doesn’t return next season. It may sound moronic, but not having him in the line-up next season would mean that the minutes will be divided to Jai Reyes, Eric Salamat, Kirk Long, and the other guards. That would give them and the other guards a chance to further improve their games.

Ateneo has 9 players left in the current roster could still suit up next season (unless they tweak the roster for some rooks or they insert some from the Team B):

Rabeh Al-Hussaini – Rabeh should have his break out season next year. He’s the only remaining legitimate center and he needs to fill in the numbers left by Ford Arao. Rabeh should develop his back-to-the-basket moves and avoid taking jump shots unless he fully develops it. He’s 6″5′ and should be ready to bang-up with his counterparts.
Nonoy Baclao – Nonoy is a potential defensive king in the UAAP. He is lean and tall and has a great leaping ability. He has good timing in blocking shots (something missed by the Blue Eagles since the Villanueva-Alvarez years). If he can still bulk-up a little, he can play the 4th spot more effectively. Hopefully, he can also develop some post-up moves.
Bacon Austria – Entering his sophomore year for the Blue Eagles, expect Bacon to be inserted in the rotation. He can play positions 1 to 3 and could also provide some offense for the Blue Eagles.
Mike Baldos – Mike provided some instant offense in the last games of the Blue Eagles (remember the 3-4 knockout match against UST?) in season 70 of the UAAP. He was actually a surprise to everyone and has been steady playing in the paint.
Eman Monfort – Eman Monfort was a star in Visayas back in his Ateneo de Iloilo days. A sudden change in the basketball environment might have affected the way he is really capable of performing inside the court. Coach Norman sees a lot in him. Trust the kid. He can really play. Depending on the recruitment, he might slide down to Team B.
Kirk Long – The most celebrated blue eagle this season. You can find his jersey anywhere inside the playing venues; The Tiger-killer. He’s so versatile that he can play position numbers 1-3 next season and will be providing some instant offense with his deadly jumper and sneaky slashes. He must however be more consistent.
Jai Reyes – He has taken over the starting point guard role and will continue his court-general role in the next seasons. He has to develop his decision making and has to be more consistent. He has showed us some A-Game in season 70 and we need to see more fo those next season.
Eric Salamat – Eric will be taking over the scoring chores next season alongside Chris Tiu (assuming that he returns). He is no doubt the best slasher in the team. He is the energy guy for the Blue Eagles. It will be no surprise if he immediately joins the teams’s starting 5 if ever Chris Tiu foregoes his last year of eligibility (He plays great coming off the bench though). He has to be more consistent in his shooting to compliment his fearless slashing prowess.
Chris Sumalinog – Chris has not been given a lot of minutes this season. He has been part of the Ateneo Team B before joining the Team A and can be an integral part of the rotation next season. He’s a great shooter too.

Projected Rookies:

Ryan Buenafe (San Sebastian) – Ryan Buenafe gave the Staglets another championship. He is the NCAA Juniors MVP, averaging a triple double in his senior year. He is most likely to suit up fot the Blue Eagles following the steps of former teammate and also former NCAA Juniors MVP Eric Salamat. He has reportedly been spotted at the Araneta Colesium this season seated on the Ateneo side. He was also said to be present during the mass at the Gesù the night when the Blue Eagles ended their UAAP Season. He will immediately be part of the rotation and can be an excellent replacement to Chris Tiu if ever he decides not to return next season. He will bring more athleticism in the team.
Justin Chua (Chiang Kai Shek) – Justin Chua is the reigning MVP of the Tionglian League and plays center. This kid is a project. He can eventually be a good center for the blue eagles come the right time. The Blue Eagles Coaching staff must work really hard in developing him into an impact player.

It will be a very exciting Season 71 for the UAAP and of course for our Blue Eagles.
We believe! The Eagle shall soon rise!

Go BLUE! Go ATENEO! ONE BIG FIGHT!