Whew! What a long title. And the title says it all.

A Cinderella Story...

The triumph of the underdogs...

From rags to riches...


...these words perfectly describe the UST champs.

They've gone a long way, hurdled many trials, suffered a number of injuries, and THEY'VE PROVEN MANY PEOPLE WRONG!

The UST Growling Tigers were no-namers at the beginning of the tournament...and they were IGNORED by many.

They said Pido Jarencio is indeed an excellent player but they doubted his coaching skills. And
they wondered how Jarencio will make something out of nothing: the UST Squad. Don't look now, Jarencio's made Champions out of the UST Squad they were calling "nothing".

They said UST is a very young team and it lacks skills and experience. Yes, they're young and
they lack experience, but they don't lack the skills. They just needed the proper training (maybe some of the players need a rigorous off-season freethrow training...hehe) and the proper coaching so that their talents will show. And Coach Pido was right for the job...he discovered the talented rookie Cruz, intensified the perimeter shooting of Evangelista, Duncil and Espiritu, improved Cuan's ball-handling performance, gave more opportunities to Ababou and the rest of the team to step up, etc. He unified the team and motivated them to work together. He instilled in them the "NEVER SAY DIE" attitude!

They said UST only got to the Final Four because La Salle wasn't in the league. C'mon, UST's
entrance to the Final Four doesn't depend on whether La Salle was playing or not...it's in UST's
own hands.

They said UST only got into the Finals because some stupid player from another school sold the
game to UST, with the latter paying 180,000. And what irritated me most is a comment from a UE student saying "The UST Alumni, Faculty, Administration, students, etcetera,
etcetera...Kristiyano lang kayo sa salita pero hindi sa gawa." What a stupid accusation, not to mention using "Christianity" in such senseless and foolish generalization. If UST didn't deserve the Finals slot then why did they manage to win the Championship??? I pity you, darling. I hope your bitterness won't eat it's way to your brain to bring you to hell.

And some said that the Finals will be a sweep for Ateneo. Ateneo's a great team, yeah. The
players are experienced and they've already established their names in the league. And yet, UST didn't give them an easy time.

...and what's sweeter than coming from the bottom and climbing all the way to the top to grab that Championship trophy and smack all those negative comments right in the face of those who said them.

As said, it all boiled down to who's hungrier for a Championship and who's got a bigger heart.
UST defied all odds bravely, battled against all other teams fairly, gave their best, and prayed to God for strength and guidance. With God's guidance, the UST Squad has ended a 10-year championship drought. They brought home the bacon.

First, thanks to GOD for this wonderful gift...for the glorious moments, for the sweet victory,
for the hardworking coaching staff, for the persevering and high-spirited players, for the people
who prayed a lot for the team's triumph, and for the Thomasian Community (proud to be a
Thomasian!) who supported the team all throughout this bumpy but wonderful journey.

Hey, I'm speaking as if I am a UST basketball player?

UST COMMUNITY: ONE goal, ONE voice, ONE TEAM.

MORAL OF THE STORY? Never underestimate a team just because that team didn't perform well at the start of the season. Basketball is as unpredictable as life; You'll never know when will these "losers" get up from the mud to slam that ball in your face and win the Championship title.

And if you're an underdog, well, keep your hopes high and keep fighting because there will a come a time that you'll earn all the fruits of your hardwork. Oh, boy. GOD never sleeps and He sees every effort you exert.

Labels: Euphoria, Scholastic Raves, The Boob Tube