MANILA, Philippines—Before the season started, it seemed that the entire Ateneo basketball universe revolved around Chris Tiu.
Blue-chip rookies aside, preseason write-ups centered on the Tiu who owns a sweet stroke; the Tiu who hits the big shots.
When the season ended, that universe unveiled a collection of stars.
Led by MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini, an overlooked cast powered Ateneo to a two-game sweep of La Salle in the UAAP men’s basketball championship.
Al-Hussaini was all over the court and his name was all over the arena with media and fans alike taking turns at a word game that involved variations of his first name—which means “winner” in Arabic.
“I’m very happy for Rabeh, he really worked hard to improve his skills and ended up being MVP,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black of the 6-foot-6 center who also bagged the Most Improved Player, Champ of the Season and Mythical Team citations.
“He’s in the gym everyday, at least an hour, working on his game individually outside of team practice. He certainly has put in the work and deserves every type of credit that he gets.”
Then there’s Nonoy Baclao, who typified how defense keyed victories for the Eagles.
“He’s really the cornerstone of our defense,” said Black of the Finals MVP who helped lead the Eagles to a title series sweep following a 62-51 Game 2 victory that dethroned the Archers last Thursday.
Rookie of the Year Ryan Buenafe also displayed a maturity beyond his playing years.
And there’s the shooting pair of Jai Reyes and Eric Salamat, who finally added a defensive dimension into their games.
“I really saw potential in this team,” said Tiu of the fiery batch that brought Ateneo its fourth overall crown.
“I decided to stay [for my final year] to help the team,” added Tiu, who wrapped up his five-year stint in the league with averages of 9.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 62 games.
“We were always there, always very close, but we always fell short [either in the Final Four on in the Finals]. It’s my last shot and I wanted to see if it’s really for us. So this is really a dream come true for me.”
Of course, there’s no forgetting Black, the celebrated professional coach who described his four-year foray in collegiate basketball as a “tougher and longer struggle.”
“We’re really happy to win this for him,” team captain Tiu said of the American mentor who won 11 titles in the PBA. “He’s the glue who kept us together. He motivated us and pushed us. He is the mastermind of the success of this team.”
