#joloisgold, but he still has some things to work on. (Photo Credit: Leo Lopez, Fabilioh) One September morning as I was chatting with one of my close basketball-watching friends, our conversation started to circle around Jolo Mendoza. When I first made mention of his name, he said something about Jolo which still sticks in my mind 'till this day. "Ahh Jolo Mendoza. Shet. That kid was born to play." I agreed with his sentiment. As our conversation rolled along, I made mention of some of the things which separates Jolo from his batch mates. Of course, his shooting is a given. His offensive wizardry was part of our conversation as well. But more importantly, it was his maturity and composure for a player his age which really impressed the both of us. Sadly, against the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers, his maturity for the game wasn't exactly on display. "I think I got a bit frustrated early, which was wrong for me as the veteran for a team," mentio...

It was a struggle for Shaun Ildefonso and the Blue Eaglets against the Junior Archers. (Photo Credit: Joji Lapuz, Fabilioh) The Ateneo Blue Eaglets this year were hyped up to be one of the deepest and most talented in recent memory. Heck, some idiotic "sportswriter" *looks at mirror* even claimed that the Season 78 Ateneo Blue Eaglets are better than the San Beda Red Cubs. The freakin' San Beda Red Cubs. What is this guy smoking?! Yesterday, the hype train was put to a stop thanks to Aljun Melecio's 42 point explosion against the Blue Eaglets. After that loss, Ateneans (inevitably) panicked. " Kala ko ba magaling 'tong Eaglets? Anyare?"  "BAKIT KAYO NATALO SA LA SALLE" " The boys should be boxing out and looking for the open man! Clearly the coach is doing something wrong!" Aaaaaaaand more. The once supposedly superior Eaglets were then surrounded with worry and doubt. They lost. This team's supposed to be some kin...

He's ready to make himself known. (Photo Credit: SLAM Philippines) Entering the UAAP Juniors Season, when the question "Who's the player to watch out for?" came out, almost everyone would answer Jolo Mendoza. Why not? Jolo made himself known during the FIBA Worlds U17 competition, plus, he scored 30 points to grab Finals MVP honors in front of a national audience. When it came to High School basketball players, Jolo Mendoza was the forefront of the discussion. After his 42 point explosion last November 14, 2015, Aljun Melecio is looking to join that discussion of HS basketball players to watch out for. But he still acknowledges that Jolo is a really good player. " Alam ko naman na, sobrang galing ni Jolo. Gusto ko lang ma- challenge yung sarili ko na gusto ko maging (ka)- level niya," the team captain of the Junior Archers shared. If anything, Aljun proved that he is on the level of Jolo, as he won their individual showdown for that game. In reality, ...

Memories of the championship are still fresh in the minds of the Blue Eaglets. (Photo Credit: Mon Rubio, The Shaded Lane) Memories of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets winning the UAAP Season 77 Juniors Basketball Championship is still very much ingrained in the heads of the current Blue Eaglets. Why wouldn't it be? That championship was the first for the Blue Eaglets after 4 years. For Jolo, Shaun and the rest of the Blue Eaglets during that time, that championship meant a lot for them. For Jolo, it was his first championship after 3 years of being ringless in the Juniors Division. For Shaun, it was his second championship his whole life, with the first being with La Salle in the SBP. Point is, that championship meant a lot to the Blue Eaglets. That championship is still fresh in the heads for not only the Ateneo community, but the rest of the basketball community as well. Then, as the popular saying goes... Walang forever.  After Boracay, the partying, the celebrating, it was ba...

The Junior Archers consider themselves as brothers more than just teammates. (Photo Credit: Karen Navarozza, ArcherPride.com) This summer was a memorable one for the De La Salle Junior Archers and team captain Aljun Melecio. The Junior Archers were crowned as the champions of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Tournament, where they edged out rivals Ateneo Blue Eaglets and the NU Bullpups. For Aljun, he won the MVP award in the same tournament in a virtual landslide, over players like Jolo Mendoza, Shaun Ildefonso, John Clemente and Justine Baltazar. Despite all of these accolades which they have collected over the summer, Aljun and the Junior Archers know they have no reason to gloat.  After all, the Ateneo Blue Eaglets are the defending champions in the UAAP tournament, not them. Plus, memories of last season's early exit still haunts the team until now. "It was really tough losing against NU during the stepladder match," Melecio lamented. But the scoring guard ...