Good for the heart ♥

It's a game like the ADMU-UE match yesterday that make your heart feel extra happy.

I didn't witness an efficient team. Their stats all probably went down. But we all saw heart and that is the most breathtaking sight on any basketball court.

It's better to see Chris Tiu shooting his 1st 3-point shot in the 4th qtr to start the Eagles' run than him attaining his career high by almost perfecting his freethrows. It's better seeing Buenafe pass 3 defenders at a time when their top-scorer was being double teamed and their captain on the bench suffering from cramps than seeing him make an open 3-pointer in a game where not making it wouldn't even matter.

It's good for a fan like me to watch those types of games. It ironically, makes me more proud. It's the sort of game that I refer to even in my YM stat messages. It makes me shout at the top of my lungs even if I'm at home. It just puts a big smile on my face. That game yesterday cancelled out any stress I was feeling and made me feel really good.

OA? I don't think I'm alone. We were all talking about it in school. And believe me I don't think any game (other than the 1st against DLSU and the loss against FEU) have been talked about that much.

Being the fangirl that I am, I read what other people who know more about the sport and the team have to say. And after reading, I brim with more pride and it feels like there's no better college to be in than the Ateneo.

From Bleachers' Brew by Rick Olivares:

Inside the Press Room, while Norman Black was all smiles over the huge win, Tiu stretched his cramped leg and answered a few questions directed at him. “We never gave up. I think that’s this team’s character and what Coach preaches to us all the time.”

So how about that last trey?

“Yeah we practice that… sometimes. But I just threw it up.”

So Coach Leo, you’re right. It’s about heart but you’ve got to have faith too.

From Falling in Place by AR Samson

The beauty of the Ateneo-UE game needs no explanation. That’s why I went on and on about the statistical impact of wins and losses on the rankings. A come-from-behind win, down nine points and erasing the gap with triple triples, defines character and the refusal to give up, even if some of the faithful was tempted to head for the exits and having their faith shaken. The “Lazarus Effect” of rising from the dead in three minutes, rather than three days, makes believers of us all.

Much will be written about the frenzied last three minutes of regulation period and the even more frantic five minutes of overtime. A classic game is defined by the degree of uncertainty on its outcome until the last ten seconds.

From Blue and White spill red ink in OT by Myopic Eagle

And so in various games, versus different opponents, and during particular stretches of a match, The Bullet invariably noted that Blue Eagles take turns delivering. That as reliable in the clutch as Chris has been, as vastly improved as Rabeh is, and as reassuring as Eric’s game-breaking is this campaign and will be post-Tiu, there really isn’t a single go-to guy for rivals to key on. Even Nonoy can drop 16 markers on his defender, as he did head-to-head with NU’s Edwin Asoro in the first round. And Jai and Ryan have scored in double figures. So going into yesterday’s crucial match, Coach Dindo must’ve hoped that his Red Warriors would outrun, outrebound and outscore us. Well, Dindo did his homework alright … but not well enough. He couldn’t draw up a play against HEART.
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Opponents are realizing (and grudgingly respecting?) that ours is not a pampered, pulpy team that caves in to intimidation and roughhousing. ... This squad of an elite school and with ample alumni backing can be as hardscrabble as we need to be, without stooping down to unsportsmanlike levels.
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Yesterday, we saw Mr. Clutch in a continuum: the current being Chris and the future being Ryan. Youngsters Nico Salva, Justin Chua and Vince Burke witnessed and learned what heart, what prevailing against terrific adversity, is all about. Should the Lord graciously allow us to go all the way, we will look back on this game as having defined what this team is made of. So what if our league-leading averages in least turnovers, points in the paint, etc. drop several notches. We just shot up the altimeter of knowing how, and willing ourselves to WIN.
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A sub-text to the leaden feet and poor hands on display yesterday: it’s the inescapable reality that our boys are in the thick of academic responsibilities. For instance, Rabeh just finished Philo orals the day before, and Kirk was facing the computer and rushing a paper just prior to the game. Like it or not, that’s a necessary, indeed priority distraction that comes with the territory of student-athlete. Pardon my saying so, but that’s a thicket that not too many of our opponents have to hack through.

//And as Ray2 said in her latest blog entry, I couldn't have said it better myself. :) I loved absolutely everything about that game. ♥