Thank You, King Eagle

With around six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Coach Norman sent you back in for the final push the team needed. We were down by 13. But the Eagle hopefuls were still hanging on. Still believing. Still believing that you would lead us once more with your end-game heroics.

This is your last year, and maybe your last game, but there must still be something that can be pulled off your sleeves. The magic that has made us believers. How could we have stopped believing? Time and again, you have almost single-handedly lifted the team to victory. Thus, earning you the title of King Eagle this year. That title that was unceremoniously handed down to you unofficially since last year when Larry went down with an ACL injury on that fateful day we faced UP.

Six minutes. Down by thirteen points. We could still make it. And maybe extend your last season for at least one more game.

And just as you re-enter the hardcourt from a brief rest on the bench, you set up the next play, maneuvered through the screens, and freed yourself up for that 3-point jumper by the left quarter-court. Nothing as fancy as that stepback jumper coming from an ankle-breaking crossover you dished off during the dying minutes of the previous game. This one was just a simple, business-like shot from a cold-blooded assassin.

Swoosh!

The blue crowd celebrated into a frenzy. Lead was down to 10. We felt that the 3-point shot was the start of a miraculous comeback only you could engineer. Yes, we could still definitely make it back into the ballgame. We believed.

In the ensuing play, Yeo got set up for a similar 3-point shot by the top of the key. And to our frustration, the ball also found the bottom of the net. Lead was back to that unlucky number 13.

And then it happened.

Just as you were crossing half-court, you dropped down on all fours. Up in the Upper Box section where I was standing, I saw it as if it happened in slow motion. And I almost knew it as soon as I saw it. It has been your recurring weakness for the whole of this season. Those dreaded cramps.

As your teammates helped you on your way back to the bench, the whole community felt for you. This wasn’t the proper way to end your playing days with us. No, there had to be a different interpretation of the phrase “going down fighting”.

But as another cliché goes, the mind is willing but the body is weak. Your cramped up legs were traitors to your plans. And as you lied down by the sidelines as you got your legs massaged, you probably knew about it, too. It might be hard to accept but that 3-point shot may have been your last basket as a Blue Eagle. Watching your teammates being toyed around from the bench must have been really hard. But there was nothing else you could do.

And as the final buzzer sounded and the smoke has cleared, we proudly sang our Alma Mater song one last time for the season. We saw you, Badjie and Magnum – the three Eagles whom we wouldn’t get to see again next season – frustrated with this loss. Up there in the galleries, we may not have visually confirmed if tears indeed welled up in your eyes, as others said. But we sure felt how broken your hearts were for not being able to finish this season with a win against our arch-rivals.

You may not have heard it but sporadic shouts of “Thank you, LA!” were yelled by the crowd in our sections.

For all those times you made that step-back three. For all those times you disrespected tall defenders with your acrobatic reverse lay-ups. For those nifty no-look assists you dished out. And for showing everyone, including your detractors, how big the heart of an Atenean really is. Your roots may be red, as you were trained as a Cub in Mendiola, but we are all certain your heart bleeds blue as soon as you stepped into the hardcourt wearing Our Lady's colors.

Thank you for the five years of service to the Blue and White.

Thank you, LA. Thank you, King Eagle!