COVID-19 Pandemic Hurting the Blue Eagles' Preparation for Season 83

As it is continuing to turn out, the preparation for a fourth consecutive championship in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) is already more difficult as it was originally planned. After all, this is the time of the year when most collegiate teams are normally in their busiest as they are preparing to gear up for another season in their respective leagues.

Then again this isn't a normal time and that's what makes planning even more difficult for Coach Tab Baldwin and company. And things won't get back to normal anytime soon until this pandemic is no more.

Due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic which forced sports leagues to indefinitely suspend games, and with some countries being forced to restrict travels in and out of their respective borders, the road to preparation for Season 83 gets more complicated for the four-peat-seeking Blue Eagles. 

Coming off a perfect run in the recently-concluded Philippine Collegiate Champions' League (PCCL) earlier this month where Ateneo won a hard-fought championship game against the San Beda Red Lions, the Blue Eagles are supposed to be flying for Siberia this May for a training camp. Then, the Blue Eagles are supposed to participate in the William Jones Cup in July. The reigning UAAP champions are also scheduled to play in a pocket tournament in Australia just before Season 83 opens in September.  

Now, it seems that all of the said plans will be shelved for now as COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc everywhere as we speak.

As team manager Epok Quimpo said it, it will be hard to plan ahead and that, the team will need to plan for every scenario and whether we like it or not, the scenario of Season 83 being postponed is still a possibility if things don't improve anytime soon. And while the team is working out on their own in spite of the Luzon island being placed under enhanced community quarantine, there's no saying if the Blue Eagles can carry on with the plans even after the community quarantine period is over.

As Quimpo pointed out, arranging overseas training camps for the defending champions will still be a daunting headache for the team management as some of the countries have already implemented severe measures to prevent the further spread of the virus in their countries.  For now, the team is hoping for the continuous safety of everyone.

While this pandemic has been hampering the preparation of the Blue Eagles, they should still be ready to fly high once Season 83 comes around. If there's one thing that we've learned from Tab Baldwin over the course of the last four years, it's the fact that Ateneo is always ready to take the One Big Fight under any circumstances. In short, the Blue Eagles will be prepared enough to defend their title. Whether it's happening this year or the next is another story. 

Photo is from SPIN.ph