In my post this morning, I talked a bit about the flashes of championship form that we glimpsed during the Ateneo-NU game, and that the Blue Eagles still needed to prove themselves against a real contender.

Well, thank you, Lord - I got my wish this afternoon when I witnessed (at least on TV) the team pulverize the FEU Tamaraws, sweeping the first round of eliminations and avenging themselves on the biggest opponents against Greg's eligibility in the process.

The Tams got in some good shots, but they struggled with their shooting partly because - take note, doofus commentators Boom and TJ - the Ateneo defense stifled them. Outside, Kirk, Tonino and Emman harassed FEU's star guards (I couldn't tell if Emman totally ruined RR Garcia's game again); and inside, Greg, Frank and Justin muscled their way past the FEU frontline - admittedly thinned out because of the absence of Whatsisname Bringas and, sometime during the game, JR Cawaling - and fought for the rebounds. Offensively, Kiefer put together another highlight reel to finish with 19 points (and I wish to add that even if he hadn't scored at all, Ateneo still would have won :-p), but the rest of the team was able to get in on the action due to the return of the fluid offense that I remember so fondly from the NU game as well as from the past championship seasons.

I am also very pleased to see the bench stepping up more. As I mentioned earlier, Tonino, Frank and Bacon have settled into their roles, but it was wonderful to see Coach Norman make killer combinations by blending these guys with the starters. Greg still saw major minutes, but Frank and Justin were there to beef up the interior defense, and the grin on Justin's face after he had managed to contribute 4 points (at least) to the score was like the sun coming up. It's been mentioned in the BEN that Justin's being bumped off the starting lineup may have dampened his confidence this season - although he's still not a starter, hopefully playing alongside Greg will boost his morale and that he keeps up his good showing in this game.

Finally - and this will always be important - the Blue Eagles retained their championship poise all throughout the game. It was marred by a spate of technical fouls in the second half, some of which were really dumb ("Pointing an accusing finger at an official?" Are the zebras really that sensitive?) but others were probably well deserved as in the case of Russell Escoto's unsportsmanlike foul - clear signs that as Ateneo started pulling away, the Tams started panicking. The boys in blue, however, remained strictly business, and I think it was this implacable approach that drove the Tams to do stupid things to try and narrow the lead. Sadly, it turned around and bit them in the @$$.

Moving forward, I'm glad that Ateneo continues to rack up the wins, but after the experiences of the past years, a really long winning streak - especially a first-round sweep - feels like sitting on an ever-growing bubble that could burst at any time. Competition is bound to get tougher in the second round, especially with all the other teams looking to ruin the Blue Eagles' unblemished win-loss record this season. Of course, I don't doubt the team's ability to keep this up, but I prefer to err on the side of caution and would be more than happy to have the boys prove me wrong.

In the meantime, I am going to sit back and savor the wonderful win. The next game can take care of itself.