7 Blue Eagles in Gilas Line-Up: A Proof of Ateneo's Legacy to Philippine Basketball

There's no denying  that Ateneo's basketball program is one of the best in the country. And just in case you don't realize it yet, the UAAP is looking at another Ateneo dynasty as the Blue Eagles, despite losing 3 of its starters from last season due to graduation, are favorites to win the UAAP championship- a fourth straight championship under Coach Tab Baldwin. And, with most of the Ateneo players now having successful careers in the PBA, the reach of the Ateneo Basketball program goes beyond the UAAP and certainly beyond the PBA.

On February 23, Gilas Pilipinas will be playing a game on the road against the Rajko Toroman-coached Indonesian team as part of the first window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. And included in the line-up of interim Coach Mark Dickel are 7 Ateneo Blue Eagles- 6 past players and 1 who is yet to play in the UAAP.

- Thirdy Ravena

- Kiefer Ravena

- JP Erram

- Justin Chua

- Isaac Go

- Matt Nieto

- Dwight Ramos

With the exception of Dwight Ramos for now, the rest of them have won a championship for the Blue and White Squad led by Justin Chua who was one of the few players who have been champions throughout their entire UAAP careers as Chua won 5 straight championships- all under the legendary Norman Black. Erram won 3 titles with Ateneo and so did the trio of Thirdy Ravena, Go, and Nieto. Kiefer Ravena won two championships under Norman Black along with 2 MVP awards while his brother Thirdy won the last three Finals MVP awards. Dwight Ramos has yet to win something for Ateneo but if his performance during the UAAP-NCAA Challenge of the PCCL is an indication, the future looks bright for Dwight Ramos once Season 83 comes around. 

And if you remember in 2018, it was the Blue Eagles who represented the Philippines in the William Jones Cup and finished 4th after completing the tournament with a 5-3 slate. Not bad for a collegiate team who won 4 of their final 5 games. 

While the inclusion of 7 players from Ateneo into the national team may seem like a beautiful coincidence, you can't take away anything from those players. It might be a coincidence that both Tab Baldwin and Sandy Arespacochaga are also included in the coaching staff of Mark Dickel with Baldwin also serving as program director of the national team. And according to the three-time UAAP champion coach, his familiarity with the players and that, the familiarity of the players to the system that Dickel is running with the national team might have given them a slight advantage in terms of making it to the line-up but that was it. Gilas isn't intentionally filling the team with Blue Eagles as it just happened that Mark Dickel is also familiar with some of the former Ateneo players.

Former Ateneo players or not, the 7 said players are among the future stars of Philippine basketball as 4 of the 7 players even included in the "23 for 23" list that Chot Reyes came up with years back. It's not a coincidence that the Gilas Pilipinas team that will face Indonesia on Sunday is loaded with proven winners from Ateneo. They will be included in the future of the national team for one simple reason: they always bring the "ONE BIG FIGHT" to their game every single time.  Remember Matt Nieto's game-winning trey with 3 seconds left against Chinese-Taipei A? That proved that Ateneo players can win anywhere. 

Photo is from smartgilaspilipinas.com