dual*ities

"For all that has been—Thanks! For all that shall be—Yes." This quote by Dag Hammarskjöld best summarizes Fr. Ben Nebres’ message to the ADMU community during the send-off mass in honor of the 3 basketball teams held last Saturday evening. 'Thanks’ for a wonderful UAAP season, with all its ups and downs, struggles and victories, he said. And ‘yes’ to whatever we might face from now on.

That, of course, happened a night before the teams’ appearance in the UAAP Final Four matches. By now, it’s no secret what the results of Sunday’s games were: The Lady Eagles made it to the finals (hurray!), the Blue Eaglets will face UPIS once more for another crack at a finals berth, and the Blue Eagles finally bowed out of Season 68 with another heartbreaking loss to DLSU.

Of all those games, it was the loss of the Seniors’ team to their archrivals that affected the Ateneo community the most. Every other Atenean that I know was devastated by it, to say the least. In fact, after the ADMU-DLSU game, my friends and I had to have an extended “venting session” at Pizza Hut Bistro-Gateway and Starbucks-Katipunan to find some sort of "closure".ü We also went to visit the Church of Gesu to seek solace. Hehehe. I guess nobody from our circle really expected our team's title bid to end so abruptly. Sure, I initially didn’t expect the Seniors’ team to make it as far as the Final Four this year. After all, the team is, by and large, still composed of relatively untried players (who barely got playing time last year) under a new coach (even though that coach is the legendary Norman Black). But then, the team’s tremendous improvement midway into the season—which enabled them to sustain a 7-game winning streak—suddenly woke me up to the fact that the Season 68 Championship was within the team’s reach. And in truth, against most of the other schools, the Eagles played splendidly and effectively, especially in terms of defense. But the fact remains that against their archrival La Salle, our boys were simply INTIMIDATED. To put it simply, DLSU has a more cohesive and better conditioned team. I don’t care for their players’ half-court/off-court antics, but one has to admit that they really had the Eagles’ number this year.

But then again, regardless of the Blue Eagles' frustrated bid for the title of UAAP champs, Fr. Ben’s message still holds. There are, after all, many things to be thankful for this season. The team’s collective effort has become more visible this year, resulting to many won games. Players who used to squander the ball a lot have now become go-to-guys in their own right. Even the second stringers have stepped up and contributed quality minutes coming off the bench. And of course, no one can forget the heart and intensity shown by veterans LA Tenorio and Magnum Membrere, who gave their all even when the odds were up against them (especially in the last game against DLSU). For all these, 'Thank you, Blue Eagles!' And true, this may be the end of the UAAP season, but there will be many other future endeavors in which to learn and grow. It is, in many ways, the beginning of better things to come. And to that, we say, 'Yes, we are ready!'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Days after the send-off mass for the basketball teams, I realized that Fr. Ben’s message applies to my own affairs as well. Just last Friday, I finally defended my thesis before a brilliant and very gracious panel of experts in the field of social psychology and social development. Thankfully, the result of my defense was way better than that of the ADMU Seniors’ team. Harhar. So yes, after the long, seemingly endless race that was my thesis (and my masteral studies for that matter), I can now safely say that I've finally crossed the finish line.ü And for that, I am truly, truly grateful—not only to my adviser and panelists, but to all those who offered their assistance, support and encouragement throughout the past 7 months. Of course, just like any thankful person, I celebrated the occasion by making the most of the weekend that has just passed. Saturday night, after the mass at Gesu, I had dinner with my ex-officemate Alex at Gayuma. Then, we joined some of our Pathways friends at Zak’s House, spent some time at Saguijo Bar in Makati, then went back to Zak’s house for a few drinks and loads and loads of laughter until the wee hours. The next day, Sunday, my basketball buddies and I met up earlier than usual to prepare to go to Araneta, grab a quick lunch, and cheer our hearts out during the games (both the Juniors' and the Seniors'). And although our team lost, we did manage to cheer each other up. For this gift of companionship, I truly am thankful as well. 'For all that has been—Thanks!'

Now, my post-thesis defense celebration period (as well as the “mourning” period for ADMU’s loss ü) has come to an end. Another chapter in my life is about to (hopefully) begin. As of yet, I’m not quite sure how it will unfold. But as always, I sure am ready to be taken for one exciting ride. 'For all that shall be—Yes.'