Just when everybody thought it would be a close fight, we were proven wrong. I’m not talking about anything else but the game between Ateneo and La Salle that took place yesterday afternoon at the Araneta Coliseum. It was not what I expected. Totally not. To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting the Archers to be as good as they were yesterday. In fact, I thought they we’re really gonna lose. Not that I’m pessimistic or I lack faith in the Archers. It’s just the worrywart in me because, if you really think about it, the ADMU team is under “Mr. 100%”, Norman Black, himself. Add to that the fact that they have the tallest lineup this season. Of course, we all know that Mac Cardona and Jerwin Gaco are not playing as well as other Archers who were there last season.

Once the buzzer sounded with the jump ball that signaled the start of the quarter, it was a much improved Archers team that I saw. There was the more aggressive TY Tang, more accurate JV Casio, even JayR Aquino surprised me. He was really more confident with his shots and more aggressive in getting those rebounds. Jun Cabatu was named the energy player of the game. Rico Maierhofer was more mature as well as OJ Cua. Ryan Araña was his usual amazing self and it just didn’t stop me from being surprised. When the lead ballooned to 30 points, I knew that all my doubts at the beginning of the game were gone. Only one thing disappointed me. Joseph Yeo was not his usual self. And I mean that one particular sequence I saw where he missed an open layup. Good thing he redeemed himself by getting the rebound and putting it in the basket. It might be because of the jitters of being the team captain and knowing that all eyes are on him. Well, it’s just the first game. There are still 13 more in the eliminations. He has enough time to improve and prove that he can lead the Archers without Mac.

To those who are wondering, Mac was in the game. He just didn’t play but he was watching with Jerwin Gaco. That’s the mark of a true archer, still valuing the sport and supporting his team mates even if you’re not in the team anymore. That’s true coz I also saw Renren Ritualo there.

So how’s life after Mac? Shining. Yup. It made the others shine and other teams may be blinded by the glow. This is what I think: With Mac doing all the scoring for the Archers when he was still with the team, they never really realized the potential that the other members have. Well, they’re in for a surprise coz the Archers may be lacking in height, but they make up for it with the maturity and aggressiveness we never saw before. Of course we can still expect a lot of bumps along the way, but if we know the team that well, we know that they can go through, over or above any obstacle that comes along the way.