So the better team won...

Or should I say ...

the team with the "go to" player?

We went to Araneta today in really high spirits. Why not? It was the first game between archrivals De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University. As expected, as early as 2 hours before the game, the place was already packed with people. The ticket booths had lines as long as God knows what, lots of people trying their luck at grabbing last-minute tickets to this much-awaited head-on game. I first grabbed a drink at Starbucks. I'd been wanting to try the Black Sesame Green Tea Cream Frapuccino and this was my chance

SUPER DUPER YUMMY!!!

I really should've gotten a bigger one

(I'm definitely getting one tomorrow for dessert)

It was purely unintentional, the GREEN drink, I mean

We were both in GREEN, of course

But to complete the GREEN and WHITE look of the day, I wore this too

It's the reminder bracelet I got from The Beads Shop (Shang Mall branch) last Thursday

(I just love the reminder ... )

So yeah ... we lost. That's 2 losses on the Season 74 score card for the Green Archers (the first to FEU). It's always painful losing to the Blue Eagles. I'm no basketball expert but I've learned so much from watching the (DLSU) games live since the mid 80's.

My two cents :

• Where was Simon Atkins? I didn't "feel" the Team Captain at all
• Arnold Van Opstal needs to step up and realize how valuable he can be because of his height. He was trash-talked by Greg Slaughter (the Ateneo rookie giant) and it got to him. It was obvious. He should learn to be more aggressive. Please don't be another Ferdinand!
• Where were Sam Maratas 3-pointers?
• Maui Villanueva is like stagnant water
• Norbert Torres is still inconsistent. But he can shoot, I know it.
• Almond Vosotros hasn't impressed me since the season opened
• Oda Tampus...I have respect for the guy. He's aggressive and determined
• LA Revilla, you are amazing. Despite being under medication for hyperthyroidism, this guy was the only one who played today and I mean it. But he needs help!

I'm still in awe at rookie Kiefer Ravena. He made everyone look like amateurs. This kid will go places and rightfully so. Too bad ... he was a La Sallian. Why he moved to Ateneo is a whole different story.

'Til the next round! ANIMO LA SALLE PA RIN!!!

DLSU vs ADMU - round one!

We're all set for tomorrow's game!

Thank you, thank you for good seats AGAIN!

Archers, please win this one!!!

Goodbye, Season 73 :(

It ended all too soon. The UAAP season is over for our beloved DLSU Green Archers. It feels strange not being in the finals. Modesty aside and excluding the time DLSU was suspended, we've always seen ourselves through the entire season. I miss watching the championships and cheering for the team to win that much coveted UAAP championship title. But we entered this season knowing fully well that this is not our year. A lot of us were almost sure we weren't going to be in the final four. Not for anything else, but because this year's team is made up mostly of rookies and sophomores : 7 rookies, 4 sophomores, 3 juniors, 2 seniors to be exact. Arch rival, Ateneo still had Kirk Long and Eric Salamat.

I have lots of observations gathered from the past weeks since the season opened in July. The biggest surprise? The Adamson Falcons. Who would've thought?! Each time I watched them play, I just got awed no end. Shooters everywhere, from a team who was a relative "unknown" all these years. Never really paid any attention to them until now. They'll still be a force to reckon with next year, I'm sure.

I'm glad I was able to watch 99% of DLSU's games this year. It's been a while since I've done that. I owe it all to my new-found status as stay at home Mom (but that's a whole different story). It really pays to watch even the small games. You get to see more, and therefore, understand more.

I've been a UAAP fan since my college years ... I started watching the games live sometime in the late 80's. Been cheering for the Archers since then. Which is why I'm extremely passionate about how they do year after year. Which brings me back to my original point. My heart bleeds for the team right now, as well as for all of its loyal supporters. But I hope the boys know and the fans remember that the team far exceeded our initial expectations. We totally under estimated them. With such a raw and inexperienced lot (compared to our huge opponents), we nevertheless managed to get into the Final Four...we beat a more mature Ateneo team in round 1 (I still remember how great that felt), we brought the FEU Tamaraws into a double overtime and beat them in the next face off, and again despite our loss yesterday, we scared the hell out of them with another overtime.

All in all, it was a good season. Save for the fact that our boys have so much more to learn (they seriously need to get a free throw coach), they put up a truly good fight this year.

To Team Captain Simon, Joshua, Maui, Joel, Luigi, Yutien, Jovet, Papot, Sam, Nico, Gab, Martin, Almond, Oda, Ikey and Ferdinand ... Take a bow, my dear Green Archers. You all did well. Coach Dindo, salamat! See you next year!!!

ANIMO LA SALLE!!!

What a huge disappointment

We had really good seats.

We arrived early in order to feel the excitement along with other College basketball fanatics.

We wore our usual green and felt so high, confident that we were gonna give it a good fight.

We came prepared. But sadly ... our team didn't.

They were so unprepared. I can't find a bigger term to describe how they played yesterday.

No heart? Maybe that's it. By the time the 3rd quarter took off, I had a sick feeling in my stomach. The lead was too big and our boys weren't stepping up to the plate. How on earth???

They say it's more heartbreaking to lose a game by just a few points, when victory seems to be within reach then is snatched away at the very last minute. True. But a loss is a loss, especially when the game is played against an arch rival. It was a TOTAL letdown. Losing by more than 20 points is such a gigantic insult. Especially knowing how badly the boys played when they could've done so much more.

4 more games in the 2nd round. We're still in the running for the final 4 but STILL. It doesn't take away the fact that yesterday's game was the worst in the entire season. Next up ... FEU on Saturday. Another big game, because their guys are big and they've only lost once this year so far. I hope we've learned painfully from yesterday's stupid errors and redeem ourselves this weekend. Nevertheless ... ANIMO LASALLE pa rin!!!

And since I'm on the topic of disappointments, here's another one albeit less painful than the one above :

I had the girls wear this last night during our family dinner in Eastwood Mall. Guess what? They each had a mosquito bite halfway through dinner. I'll just finish off the 2 packs I bought and, well ... on to the next brand!

CLOSE CALL!

The DLSU Green Archers literally worked their butts off to win yesterday's game vs. the FEU Tamaraws. After leaving the "enemy" behind by 15 points, the other team caught up leaving just a 6-point gap and all of us on the edge of our seats. The hard work paid off in the end with a 3-point win --- whew!!! JUST ONE MORE WIN on Sunday and we're off to the finals!

Pray pray pray!!!

Games on Sunday :
DLSU vs FEU 2pm
UE vs ADMU 4pm

Who's watching?

CONGRATULATIONS De La Salle Green Archers!!!

After a year's suspension due to player ineligibility the
DE LA SALLE GREEN ARCHERS are so back and have shown
that they STILL have what it takes to bring the crown home to Taft!

I've lost count of the number of championship games I've watched but the one today will certainly be the most unforgettable of them all. Heart-stopping all the way...it was written in the stars! This crown truly belongs to the GREEN ARCHERS!!! We're proud of you guys!!!

JVee --- you are still number one for me!
Rico --- great job, see you next year!
To TY AND CHOLO --- you'll surely be missed...what a fantastic way to end your UAAP experience! This may have been your last game in the UAAP but you'll always be remembered! This championship belongs to the both of you

THANK YOU FOR A GREAT GREAT SEASON!!!

DERECHO, LA SALLE!!!

Animoism

I first saw these shirts during the UAAP opening last month. I wondered who made them because I didn't see a selling booth outside the gates of Araneta Coliseum. I also didn't get to go up to those kids who were wearing them to ask where they could be bought because the place was too crowded then. They are so different from the usual shirts (which I've honestly grown tired of, that's why I haven't been wearing mine lately). I especially love the very original statements =)

Thank God for Multiply (and for tons of free time to surf!), I finally found the sellers of these funky De La Salle shirts. I actually placed an order for a shirt each for myself and DH. I'm getting the lime green (Revive the Animo High) and DH is getting the black shirt (Push the Limit, Animo Spirit). If I like the material and the fit, then I'm definitely going to order more hee hee!

I can't wait for their new styles to come out...



Visit ANIMOISM if you want to grab these shirts. Get yours before the next DLSU-ADMU game haha! =p

Photo credit : www.animoism.multiply.com

Today's the day...

DLSU is officially back in the UAAP today. The league opens at 1pm, which means we need to be in Araneta much earlier to make sure we can find decent parking in Gateway Mall.

DH got our tickets yesterday. I was kinda hoping Araneta management wouldn't mandate ticket-buyers to purchase a gift certificate, just like they did in the past years. The GC costs P300! That's another 300 bucks on top of the cost of your ticket. That's what you call hard sell. They know that people will buy UAAP tickets regardless of the circumstances so they're taking full advantage of it. I'm a marketing person and one of the strategies I don't believe in is hard selling. Do that if you want to turn your consumers off.

Anyway back to the topic...I'm really excited about going to the opening. Our green shirts are ready, we're claiming them in Araneta, from the Gang Green stall manned by DH's Archer friends who started selling them 2 seasons ago. DH was part of this business but decided to forego participation this year.

More photos later!

UAAP Season 70 --- we're back with a vengeance!

Basketball is the only sport I appreciate. I can watch it as intently as I watch the latest episode of Oprah and Grey's Anatomy.

So when DLSU was suspended in last year's UAAP, I was really disappointed. No games to look forward to, not even on TV. That was the only time I was clueless about what was going on.

I haven't missed a season since I was in college. Wearing our green shirts, armed with matching green Coleman jugs and white towels, my group would cut classes just to go to Araneta to watch live. We didn't have any problem getting tickets because my groupmate's brother was a varsity player for a few years.

It's funny that I ended up with Neal many many years later. He graduated from DLSU and is a basketball freak who also doesn't miss a game. Together with other diehard Archers, we cheer our hearts out every single season. I was pregnant with Sabine during Season 68 and I still watched each and every DLSU game and screamed as always, unmindful of my condition. Too bad Neal didn't want me to go to Araneta for the final match with FEU because he was afraid that things might go out of hand.

THREE MORE DAYS til the new season begins. I can feel Neal's excitement and he can clearly see mine. I've been nagging him to make sure our seats have been secured for Saturday. I've made arrangements to leave the kids and yaya at my SIL's house since we can bring them with us. The only thing that I haven't done is to take out all my green shirts, those that have been sleeping inside my closet for the past 12 months and buy my regular UAAP supply of Strepsils ha ha ha!

I'm so glad DLSU's back in the league. I don't want to think about all the stupid things that caused the team's suspension. What matters is WE ARE BACK and ready to play some damn serious basketball!

TY, Rico, Cholo, Simon, PJ B., James, Brian, my favorite JV and the rest of the guys --- do us all proud! DERECHO LASALLE!

ARE YOU READY FOR US?