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The Ateneo Blue Eagles have an offseason that is unlike any other since they continue to represent the Philippines in the current 40th William Jones Cup in Taiwan.
As a summer internship, the defending champions of the UAAP are putting themselves into the real world, winning the elite training against topnotch competition. The only collegiate team of the tournament has faced national teams and professional clubs, larger and more experienced opponents than before. But five games in the annual invitation, the Blue Eagles showed their maturity and brilliance to win a record of 3-2.
Acquiring basketball expertise and building chemistry are among the many things the Blue Eagles will take home to prepare for the college season. However, they will also provide a valuable lesson in professionalism.
"Five matches in five days are difficult, this trip has taught us to be more professional," said Isaac Go. "Take care of our bodies, watch what we eat, be mentally prepared for each opponent, be able to to put a good or bad game behind us, are just some of the things that become professional. "
has a unique tournament format in which there are no playoffs, no semifinals, and not even a championship game. All participating teams will compete in a single round-robin format and the team that will have the best record will win. A simple format for sure, but the only catch is that everyone has a game every day. In total, nine teams are participating in the 40th Jones Cup, which means the Philippine team will play nine games in nine consecutive days. This is far from what the blue eagles are used to since nine games would already exceed the first round of the UAAP
. Go's feelings that the Blue Eagles learn to be professional on the fly are appropriate. As he said, they must keep a short-term memory after a good match or a bad match.
Last Wednesday against Japan, Go experienced six minutes without incident and scored only two points. It is true that the Ateneo coaching staff is probably turning his players because of the tight schedule, but Go has not been able to contribute to his limited time in the field . True to his words, the big man put his bad performance behind him and came out with a sensational performance against Indonesia the next day. In Ateneo's 89-78 win, he achieved his best tournament match with 21 points on an incredible 6-in-7 clip from the other side of the bow
"I think it was just my day. Well (Wednesday vs Japan), but my teammates and my coaches still believed in me, "said the center, who also mentioned that their daily routine is not too different at home. "I just wanted to go out and make up for the game yesterday."
The experience gained from the likes of South Korea, Japan and Canada, among others, will undoubtedly help Ateneo in the long run. From a basketball perspective, tackling more physical and older opponents, in addition to showing how elite-level teams operate in the field, are extraordinary lessons that a team can learn from. But as Go shared, this international journey also taught them to behave with maturity and a sense of responsibility.
Ateneo still has three games on his schedule – Lithuania, Chinese-Taipei Blue and Iran.
"I guess we are just [going to] to continue playing what we are, we can not let external factors affect how we play," said Go.
Spoken as a true professional.
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