NO Kiefer Ravena. No Von Pessumal.
No Jerie Pingoy, GBoy Babilonia, Hubert Cani, Adrian Wong, Isaac Go, Mike Nieto, Arvin Tolentino, and CJ Perez, either.
A new era of Ateneo Blue Eagles start this year’s Filoil Flying V Premier Cup with a wholly different kind of lineup under new coaching consultant Tab Baldwin.
Of the 14 names submitted to the country’s top preseason college basketball league, only four suited up in Ateneo’s blue and whites the previous University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) campaign.
The only names in the roster from the Blue Eagles’ UAAP Season 78 roster are John Apacible, Aaron Black, Chibueze Ikeh, Matt Nieto and Vince Tolentino.
The new faces on the squad include Bryan Andrade from the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, Tyler Tio from the Xavier Stallions and Team B call-ups Jose Manuel Escaler, Louis Timothy Cu, Jay Javelosa, Cole Micek, Marc Salandanan and Dan Wong, brother of Adrian Wong, who made a huge splash last season with his late-game heroics.
Thirdy Ravena, younger brother of Kiefer, returns to the lineup after sitting out last season due to academics. Javelosa, on the other hand, is back to Team A lineup after moving down to Team B last season.
“It’s a temporary one,” bared Assistant Head Coach Sandy Arespacochaga, who added that Ateneo merely complied with the deadline for the submission of players. “We will make changes over the next few days or weeks, because many of our players are still unavailable because of their final weeks of class.”
According to Ateneo Manager Chris Quimpo, some of the other missing names should gradually make a return to the lineup in two weeks, upon completion of their academic requirements.
Tournament Director Joey Guillermo clarified that teams can line up up to 20 athletes, “provided they must be eligible for next season’s play. Furthermore, they can also adjust their lineup up to their third match.”
The Ateneo Blue Eagles will also sport a new but familiar figure on the sidelines in team consultant Baldwin, who is also the Gilas Pilipinas head coach.
Ateneo missed two previous Filoil Flying V Premier Cups after they opted to train abroad. The team finally returned to domestic preseason tournaments, with Baldwin saying the exposure will be good for both the coaching staff and the players “as we need to see what we are up against.”
The Blue Eagles make their Filoil debut on Saturday against the University of the East Red Warriors at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
The opening match will pit Adamson University against De La Salle University at 2 p.m.
In juniors play, the San Beda Red Cubs take on the Ateneo Blue Eaglets at 6 p.m.
Tickets to the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup are available at the ticket office of the Filoil Flying V Center, as well as all Ticketnet outlets.