But the Blue Eagles' third straight title proved to be the toughest.

With Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Nonoy Baclao and Jai Reyes taking their talents to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the Blue Eagles were left with a cast of role players that had been instrumental in their two previous championships.

Still, the Loyola-based squad went on to retain the title to join University of the East, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University and La Salle in the list of UAAP teams that achieved such a feat.

As if the UAAP title wasn't enough, Ateneo went on to capture its second straight title and a record third overall in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League, and then took fourth spot in the recently-concluded 18th Super Kung Sheung Cup in Hong Kong.

Rough start
Ateneo's road to the UAAP title did not come easy. They opened the season with a 72-69 loss to FEU, then suffered a 66-63 defeat to bitter rival La Salle for a 2-2 slate.

But Ateneo won eight of its last 10 games, including six straight, to finish second behind top seed FEU in the Final Four.

Despite losing four games this season, including a 74-72 defeat to the Tamaraws in the last day of the elimination round, Ateneo coach Norman Black didn't push the panic button.

Black, a 10-time PBA champion coach, felt that if his team could get some momentum in the homestretch, then they could do something in the Final Four.

"Let's face it, we weren't the favorites going into the season, but at the same time I had to develop the players as the season went on, and luckily they were listening to me and executing the things that needed to be done," said Black.

Keeping the faith
Black said he kept reminding his team to play better. "I kept saying all along that if we continue to play better, we might have a chance to win the championship, and our major ingredient was defense."

"We really didn't have a dominant offensive player, so that we had to rely on our defense to win games," Black added.

Ateneo blasted Adamson in their Final Four match-up, 65-55, to arrange a title showdown with FEU.

The Blue Eagles then cruised to a 72-49 win over the Tamaraws in Game 1 behind stellar performances from Kirk Long, Eric Salamat, Eman Monfort, Justin Chua, Nico Salva and even seldom-used center JP Erram.

Many expected FEU to bounce back in Game 2. But after the Tamaraws enjoyed an early nine-point margin, the Eagles slowly chipped away at that lead, then leaned on Ryan Buenafe's fourth-quarter heroics to complete the title win, 65-62.

Ateneo's balanced production led to no Blue Eagle player making the league's Mythical Five.

Disappointing finish
While it was a successful season for Ateneo, it turned out to be another disappointing campaign for FEU, which many considered to be the heavy favorites to clinch the UAAP crown since it entered the year with an intact lineup.

Game 2 also turned out to be coach Glenn Capacio's last time at the FEU bench, since he was rushed to the hospital at the halftime break when his blood pressure went up.

A day after being discharged from the hospital, the former PBA cager resigned as FEU coach. He now enjoys a more relaxed role as one of the assistants of Philippine Patriots mentor Louie Alas in the ASEAN Basketball League.

JVP, KY, GMANews.TV