Titans Baseball Club - Philippines

MANILA - The Ateneo Blue Eagles have rewritten history on the collegiate diamond. Sunday's 5-4 thriller over arch-rival De La Salle University put a stamp on the Blue Eagles' breakthrough 2006 University Athletics Association of the Philippines baseball season.

Not since the inception of collegiate baseball has the Hail Mary nine finsihed this high in the standings and with a winning record to boast of. That all changed this year as the Blue Eagles wrapped up their regular season with an impressive 7-3 record -- good enough for a second-place tie and a play-off date with the defending champion University of Santo Tomas Tigers beginning this Thursday.

Ateneo is on fire right now, having won four in a row as they prepare for a showdown with the Tigers. UST has dropped its last two contests, including a 6-5 heartbreaker to the Blue Eagles last Thursday. The Tigers however will have the twice-to-beat advantage by virtue of a favorable run differential quotient. In their first round encounter UST blanked the blue crew, 9-0. Nevertheless it can't be discounted that Ateneo has won five one-run games this season -- a UAAP record -- and should seemingly have the advantage in a close affair.

While there has definitely been more parity in the UAAP this year, 2006 will go down as the Blue Eagles' finest performance in the collegiate circuit -- something not even its 1990 predecessor, supposedly the school's best team ever assembled, can claim. It should be worth noting that it was only four years ago when the Blue Eagles snapped a dubious Philippine record 10-year, 98-game losing streak.

Coaches Andy Bonifacio, Alex Estipular, and former Blue Eagle Emmanuel Fernandez, then a rookie on that fabled 1990 squad, have been steering the Eagles on this new course. With the exception of the 2005 Titans League, the Blue Eagles have been seeing action in the Titans Baseball Circuit since 2003. The competition afforded by Titans Baseball has certainly helped. Two months ago, Ateneo captured the 2005 Titans Series in dramatic fashion over the National University Bulldogs. A rematch could be waiting in the wings should the Bulldogs (5-5) upset the top-ranked University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (8-2) in the other play-off match-up.

Team chemistry has been a postive factor in the team's coming of age. Behind a solid core led by SEA Games Softball gold medalist Melvin Villegas (MBA), senior captain John Zamora, Rommel Sta. Ana (MBA), junior Stefano Baltao, sophomores Nikko Dizer and Nico David, Ateneo has proven its competitiveness in the 21st century. And there's more in the wings with freshmen Alex Tolome (2005 Titans Series Best Pitcher) and Carlo Banzon.

So if you're feeling blue, hold on to your horses, look to the diamond and catch an eagle.