at long last

Let me begin by stating how (mostly) bored I am with the current UAAP season. I cannot remember going to these many games and not feeling any thrill --or feeling very little thrill--over the outcome.

You see, Ateneo has been lording it over in Season 72 that the only question left in their every game is how much garbage time...err...playing time will Vince Burke get.

To some, building these 30-point leads is loads of fun. But if you ask me, it gets tiring after some time.

I've always been a fan of underdogs, and I've never been used to being "spoiled" by this much. Call me a lunatic but I must admit that at some point in the season, I was really wishing that the games were more tightly contested, even if it means sending an "L" along Katipunan's way.

That never happened, as you probably know by now. Very few games--and opponents--offered a legit challenge to the defending champs.

But of course, you can't blame them for that. It's not their fault that they ran roughshod over the competition.

But that is also precisely the reason why I've been waiting for the Playoffs to begin (more like the Finals really, since I had doubts that UST could offer a stiff challenge after running their offense through 2 players the entire year).

Now I don't want to sound like an arrogant bastard to the opposing fans here, but God knows how long I've been waiting for someone or something that would give Rabeh Al-Hussaini and company a run for their money.

And as such, it wasn't surprising that I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear when the Eagles were smothered by the silky smooth hair of Lawrence Chongson last Sunday.

Okay, I wasn't really grinning (lest I get shot by Dick Gordon), but I also wasn't carrying a long face. Bottomline is that finally, after 17 matches and 40,800 seconds of playing time, we've got ourselves a ballgame.

And that is exactly how I like it.