reminiscence of a basketball enthusiast…

in a country where basketball is big, i came to watch the sport when i was just six..that was the pba..my brother was a big fan of the sport ( he plays it too but not much) too..gaya-gaya ko sa kanya so i would support whatever team he’s rooting for..that was the crowd-favorite, ginebra..Ü then there’s the uaap, the celebrated collegiate league..i started watching it when i was in 4th grade for the same reason i had with pba…’coz of my kuya..i wasn’t an avid fan that time..i just watched it just for the heck of it..all i knew were the stand-outs.. from then on, i started to watch it..all (players) they want is to play to give pride to their respected schools..it was on my 2nd yr in highschool that i really followed every game in uaap..that was season 65..my kuya was studying at that time in one of the schools that participated in uaap (initially in ust then to feu) so somehow i got contaminated with his uaap-watching..i was rooting for dlsu (they were unbeaten) that time and i said whoever defeats that team would be my team..Ü surprise surprise!archrival admu defeated them ruining their eliminations sweep..they even managed to get the crown ending dlsu’s five-peat..that was the start of my passion for uaap..ÜÜÜ since then, i hardly miss any game and supported admu..they lost in the finals to feu in season 66.. my dlsu-lover friends would tease me about admu..we would then laugh at the teams at the bottom..one of which was ust.. that’s the team i would be daredevil enough to name (babawi naman ko maya)..you probably know the other teams..in season 67, admu got short in making it to the finals and settled for 3rd place.. i hoped that when the time comes that i enter college, ust would improve its performance..i was an incoming freshie back then.. same thing happened in season 68..admu just made it to the final four together with the other three teams that were consistent and those other teams were trapped at the bottom, ust included..i still supported admu though i also supported my school, ust..Ü which team i rooted when it was admu-ust match??it was tough..admu’s my dream school as in!on the other hand, ust’s my school that has given me a lot in a short span of time..when we (ust) lost in the 1st round to admu, i couldn’t feel too happy about their (admu) win ‘coz i know my school lost at their expense..that made me realize that i love ust more admu..ust finished terribly while admu was still in the final four..i often tell my friends pag asaran time about our schools na collective effort na lang sa championship..ust is known for having half of the general championships in uaap..lupit diba??ÜÜÜ plus there’s the gawi to be really proud of..season 69, sports analysts never included ust to be a contender for the crown..on the other hand, thomasians prayed and hoped for a good performance from the team..with a new coach, coach pido jarencio and a couple of rookies to watch for, the team was ready for battle..it may seem uber late but i want to recount UST’s season 69 in uaap..i was in dome for the opening ceremony last july 08..ending with 2-5 win-loss card in the first round, it was impossible for the tigers to bring back the glory it once had during the ‘90s..but the tigers proved themselves and avenged in the 2nd round..they even gave admu its first loss..there was only one team that swept ust and those two games were even close fights..swerte lang talaga sila at malas kami..haha!bumawi naman kami sa cheerdance..i watched a couple of games live together with my good friend joicey..Ü there was a time tinakbo namin harrison just to make it to the halftime and see YJ perform..ayun!di umabot…whenever i can’t watch it live, i make it a point that i get to watch it on tv..sinundan ko talaga ust this season..they ended the eliminations with 6-6 tied with adu..they had a play-off game for the placing in final four..i hurried home from org. duty just to watch that..talagang kinulit ko si tuki para makinood sa house nila ‘coz we were doing naj’s avp that time..woohoo!we got the 3rd spot..i personally believe that we can handle ue more than admu..ue had the twice-to-beat advantage..but all great things must come to and end..ust defied that advantage..ÜÜÜ they beat ue twice and was on their way to the finals to face admu who defeated adu for finals..nakakakaba ung rubber match between ue and ust..it was a close fight during crunch time and it was just sooooo great ust prevailed..we won by a point!my two favorite teams up against each other..game one was on!i was there live with my good fellas..thomasians were already jubilating after an evangelista shot with a second remaining..BOOM!kramer made a basket and went in..=S admu got game one..after the game, coach was interviewed..he simply said “eh di bumalik sa huwebes”..my friend, junie, even commented that the team had to go through a ot to get to the fianls..sobra!due to milenyo, game two was moved on a saturday..you can tell students, alumni, faculty of each school were all out in supporting their teams..ust made sure that there will be a game 3 and sealed the win with 16 points up..i was there again with a bunch of friends of course..Ü line for the tickets in dome was terrible and we ended up getting gen ad sits!but it was all good..atleast we were gonna see it live..the game was really intense and even extended to overtime..whew!everyone was just praying, hoping their school will get the title..the buzzer sounded..ust 76, admu 74..wooooohooooo!i finally experienced a championship title!!!ÜÜÜÜÜ it was a bit sad it had to be in the expense of admu but oh well...it was much, much sweeter because no one expected it..oh yeah..i was wrong with ust..they handled admu very well..ÜÜÜ I remember what ababou said, “naniniwala na ‘ko sa impossible is nothing” aba!adidas yun ah..my fave brand.. but it’s sooo true, impossible is nothing..’til the…Ü p.s i remember that dude from another school said when ust swept them, “di bale ateneo naman next game nila” haha!we gave admu their first loss!=P