Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
It may not have been a perfect season for Ateneo, but for coach Joe Silva, winning the UAAP Season 80 juniors’ basketball championship still tastes sweet no matter how you win it.
“All we wanted to do is to win the championship, whether we had to sweep or do it the hard way,” he said after the Blue Eaglets claimed the title with a 63-58 Game 3 win over the NU Bullpups on Friday. “All our main focus, our main direction was to win a championship.”
Finishing with a perfect 14-0 sweep of the eliminations, Ateneo seemed poised to complete the rare perfect season.
As much as Silva and the players tried to downplay the situation, they knew that eventually, the streak would get in their heads — something which happened in Game 2, when the Blue Eaglets fell for the first time, 70-67, last Tuesday.
“If I’ll mention in Game 2, I felt that the sweep got in our heads. We didn’t play well,” he admitted.
But Silva looked at it as a blessing in disguise—a much-needed humbling experience for Ateneo.
“Fortunately, we lost,” he said as the Blue Eaglets once again focused on what they need to do to accomplish their set goal. “We needed that, not just in basketball, but in terms of the character of the boys. At least, the boys were humbled down.”
Silva saw the differences—from the practices to the bus ride to the venue, to moments before Game 3 started — that Ateneo is hell-bent on bagging its first title in three years.
“We had the right mindset coming into this game. We really knew that we wanted the championship,” he said.
And just like the last time he hoisted the trophy with his Blue Eaglets, Silva still revels in the celebration of this recent success.
“We took the same route but its a different cast of characters, different experiences. Both are fulfilling,” he said.