I wrote this stuff a year ago...
"Natalo ang UST sa Ateneo noong Linggo. Tapos na ang season nila sa UAAP. Ang mahirap lang sa UAAP, kada taon, may manlalaro na nagpapaalam. Hindi mo alam kung mapapanood mo pa ulit sila maglaro. Makapaglaro man sila sa ibang liga, hindi mo na rin sila ganoon ka-gusto kasi hindi naman na sila naglalaro para sa unibersidad mo. Hay..."
I wrote all that because I thought Japs Cuan would be graduating that year. So, now I am feeling all that again because Japs would be graduating this year. And five other players, if you can imagine that. Arrgh... So there was no way I am going to miss their last game. I just have to watch their game live. Then I found out it was scheduled the same day as the admu-dlsu game. Shit.
As in all Ateneo-Lasalle game, tickets are rarer than gold. That's what the hype make it out but in reality, there are still a lot gen. ad available and that is good enough for me. After all, I don't need to see the players up close, I already know what they looked like.
When we entered the coliseum, it was clearly divided between two colors; green and blue. Now, something is really wrong with our democracy when there are four teams playing and the tickets were bought by just two camps. But I am not going to delve into that because they are already having a lot of mileage, like the whole country cares or something. Anyway, there they were, my UST Growling Tigers warming up. Sigh. And there was my other UAAP favorite, the UST Yellow Jackets.
I am not going to try to review the game but I am going to say this; I don't think I would ever outgrow watching a UAAP game, well a Growling Tigers game in particular. I just love this team. I think its because they keep me connected to my school and everytime I watch a game, I get to be a college kid again.
The only hard part is when players graduate. I am not against it, I just think it is sad, you get attach to them somehow and right now, it seems unthinkable to find a decent replacement for Jervy Cruz. He could possibly the best amateur player in the country. The pressure would definitely double for Mirza and Ababou. And oh my gulay, a UST without Japs. When I was in highschool, I was already a UAAP fan and Japs was already playing for the juniors team. They always show the juniors champinoship game so I was already familiar with him. Now, he played his last game for UST. He is really a good leader, the stability he brings to the team is very important and we all have to admit, he improved his free throws a great deal. Sigh. I just know, I would miss him being in the team. Heck, I still miss the Gelig-Baguio tanden.
There's one good thing about being a fan, you don't graduate from it. After all, it was never about the players, it had always been about the school spirit.
