Monday, July 31, 2006

Five-and-Oh

Today is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

On this day two years ago, during what came to be known as "The Larry Game," the Blue Eagles came back from a 20-point deficit, to beat the Adamson Falcons by three points on an LA Tenorio buzzer beater. It was probably the most improbable comeback I have seen live on the basketball floor, and to this day, remains one of the most memorable Ateneo games I have ever seen.

(The most memorable game would be the one played way back in 1994, when a bunch of unknowns from Loyola beat one of the best basketball teams to ever come out of La Salle.)

So I figured yesterday would be a good day for Ateneo basketball. Too good, in fact, that I set II Tolentino aside until after the final buzzer. Until yesterday, the Eagles were winning by an average margin of four points and change. Their last three games were not decided until the last two minutes of the game. (It's not really the sport to follow if you have a heart condition.) Yesterday, as if on cue, the Eagles beat the title-favorite UE Warriors. As early as the second quarter. They couldn't have possibly chosen a better day to finally win one convincingly.


It was a great all-around game for the Hail Mary squad. Escalona led the scoring with 14 points, including a back-breaking three after the Warriors almost closed the gap down to six. JC Intal had 10 assists (on top of 12 points and 8 rebounds). Nine eagles scored five points or more. (The Warriors' fifth-leading scorer, Martinez, sizzled with 3 points.)

OBF.

(This, by the way, is my 100th post. Yahoo.)

Photo courtesy of www.fabilioh.com.