TO set the record straight, Jared Bahay feels right at home at Ateneo - and there’s nowhere he’d rather be.
This much is still true even after they lost to his onetime home: the University of the Philippines.
The Blue Eagles suffered a sorry 82-75 loss to the Fighting Maroons after wasting a strong start in Saturday’s Filoil EcoOil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup in San Juan.
READ: Debuting Jacob Bayla, UP pile onto Ateneo's woes
From the get-go, the Cebu native knew all eyes - and many mouths raring to jeer - would be on him, even though it was only his second game in the preseason tournament. He showed up otherwise, and had eight points, three rebounds, and three assists for Ateneo.
That, an improvement from his one-point, one-turnover showing in his debut, was more than enough for him to prove to himself he’s in the right place.
“Alam ko they’re going to go hard on me, so excited lang ako, and gusto kong makalaban sila. Basta, naging ready lang ako,” he told SPIN.ph.
“UP is a champion team, we expected them to be defensive, physical, and yung past ko nga. My Ateneo teammates naman, they’ve got my back.”
Feeling the UP Fight, still
While Bahay is aware of the aftermath of his sudden change of heart after initially committing to play for UP, he’d rather turn his attention to the silver lining of it all.
“Facing UP, again, it’s a champion team, may culture. I got into the game na gusto ko pa rin mag-learn from them,” he explained.
This is one thing that didn't change when he reneged on his initial commitment to the Fighting Maroons. When then, JD Cagulangan was teaching Bahay tricks of the trade while they were both wearing maroon; now, the latter was picking up this and that while guarding the latter.
“Mga seniors ko dun, sinasabi sa'kin maging ready kasi it’s super different, dala ko pa rin yun ngayon,” the back-to-back No. 1 under-19 player according to the National Basketball Training Center said.
For his part, Cagulangan only had good things to say about Bahay after the game.
“Blue-chip si Jared. Happy ako para sa kanya kung anong nilaro niya… May galit? Wala sa amin ‘yun, choice niya yun. Sa'min lang, gusto lang namin maglaro,” said the UP veteran whose triple in UAAP Season 84 ended the school's 36-year title drought.
Forever One Big Fight
The crowd, though, had a different approach, and Bahay, of course, already saw it coming.
“Ok lang, I love the crowd, they (UP) have a nice cheer. I know it’s going to be part of it (violent reactions) and I love the challenge,” he said.
A loss to UP, for the 5-foot-9 playmaker, is nothing more than what it was. That's why it was no big deal to shake hands with each and every Fighting Maroon after the loss.
What matters most for Bahay is getting back to the play that made him a star with Gilas Pilipinas Youth and giving his all for Ateneo from now until the foreseaable future.
“I’ve made the right decision. It’s what’s better for me and my family, and yes, I have no regrets,” he said.
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