Eagles gear up for next season’s flight

By Jasmine W. Payo
Inquirer
Last updated 03:25am (Mla time) 10/02/2007

GAME THURSDAY (Araneta Coliseum)
3 p.m. -- Univ. of the East vs La Salle
(Game 1 of best-of-three series)

MANILA, Philippines -- A day after Ateneo de Manila University bowed out of the UAAP basketball competition, the Blue Eagles continued to feel the sting. Not just the one caused by long-time rival De La Salle University, but also the one jabbed on them by the National University Bulldogs.

“In the end, there’s obvious disappointment,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black. “We were disappointed that we lost not just to La Salle but also to NU. If we didn’t lose to NU, it would have been an easier road for us to the Finals.”

The debacle against the NU Bulldogs -- a 96-88 overtime upset on the last day of elimination -- blew the Eagles’ bid for the twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals.

The Eagles settled for a share of second place with the Green Archers, but they fell further to third place after dropping the playoff match that gave their rivals the twice-to-beat bonus.

And it did turn out to be an advantage as the Archers needed two games to claim the last Finals berth. Avenging their first semifinal loss, the Archers advanced to the championship with a 65-60 triumph in the rivals’ winner-take-all showdown last Sunday.

But the setback isn’t grounding the Eagles for long, as plans are already afoot for next season.

“Definitely he has signed up for next year,” said team manager Paolo Trillo of Black, who will be on board for the fourth straight season. “We’re meeting [today] to map out the plans for next year.”

Several collegiate tournaments are being lined up including the Champions League, the Fr. Martin’s Cup and possibly the Philippine Basketball League.

Black is also excited with his next recruitment class that will include NCAA juniors Most Valuable Player Ryan Buenafe of San Sebastian College and Chiang Kai Shek College center Justin Chua.

Buenafe created a buzz in the recent NCAA juniors tournament by leading the Staglets to the title with his all-around performances, some of which resulted into triple doubles. The six-foot-five Chua, on the other hand, is considered as the best high school prospect under the radar.

The two are expected to more than make up for the graduation of Ford Arao and Zion Laterre, and will link up with veteran Chris Tiu and promising upstarts Eric Salamat, Yuri Escueta and Nonoy Baclao.

“If you look at the overall picture, the team achieved more than what people expected us to achieve,” said Black.

“Obviously we didn’t have the talent level that we had last year. But the players nobody expected to do well improved a lot this UAAP season from the last season. Again, we’ll work on the players’ skills. The UAAP is a veteran’s league. Normally, teams that have quality veterans are the ones who rule. The veterans are really the key.”