MANILA, Philippines — It may not have been the ending they wanted for their collegiate careers but Ateneo seniors Chris Koon and Sean Quitevis relished their lifetime experiences in being the Blue Eagles leaders  in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.

Koon and Quitevis played their hearts out, only for Ateneo to lose to Adamson, 69-55, in its final game of the season to wound up with a 4-10 finish  on Saturday at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

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Ateneo, which won four championships under coach Tab Baldwin, ended up as the cellar-dwellers of the season.

READ: UAAP: Adamson beats Ateneo, plays UE for last Final Four spot

“The locker room, it’s definitely disappointing, not the standard that the school has set that we’ve had. Me and Sean have been a part of different phases of Ateneo, but this one, just another learning experience. But we’re grateful for the opportunity. It’s a game that we wish we could have won, but at the end of the day, these things happen,” said Koon, who had 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals in his final UAAP game.

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“We move on to the next phase of our lives, and we hope that the next team is able to come back strong and hopefully uphold the standard that Ateneo has. So we wish them the best, and they know that we’re going to be watching them next year.”

Graduating guard Quitevis said he learned a lot this season in leading a rebuilding team despite the disappointing finish.

Ateneo Blue Eagles’ graduating player Sean Quitevis hugs coach Tab Baldwin after their final elimination round game in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

“I guess the lesson I take from my journey is really just to never give up on on your dreams. I’m honestly in this position where I’m in right now, I didn’t even envision this for myself. To put on the Ateneo jersey is such an honor and I really hope that the next batch of Ateneans embrace that, how much of an honor just to put this jersey on it,” said Quitevis.

“And to the Ateneo community, I didn’t really grow up as a true blue and Ateneo wasn’t really my dream school, but just with all the years I’ve been here, I understand why people fall in love with Ateneo. Just the community, the values that they stand by and it’s really win or lose, it’s the school we choose.”

READ: Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin moves on from worst UAAP loss

Baldwin heaped praise on the leadership and the years of dedication of his two champion players for his team. 

“The job that these two guys did, in a very unenviable scenario, commands my respect and I’m sure, as you saw from the response of our community after the game, the respect of our community and I think that is more than well deserved and I just wanna go on the record publicly and tell them as I just did in the dugout, how much I love them, how much I respect them, and pay them due homage for the job that they did this year as leaders and almost all of it behind the scene,” said the Ateneo coach.

As they leave Ateneo, Koon and Quitevis hope the Blue Eagles will learn from this tough season and continue to honor the school they play for as they try to rise from the ashes next year with incoming sophomores Jared Bahay and Kristian Porter embracing bigger roles. 

READ: UAAP: Tab Baldwin hopes Ateneo can finish Season 87 strong

“I just want the guys we’re playing with now just to not take anything for granted. When you put on this uniform, it means so much. Throughout the years we’ve had success, although this season has been record-wise the least successful, I feel like I’ve learned the most this year just about myself, about the program, the strength of the Ateneo community, and it’ll always be there, win or lose,” Koon said.

“Coach Tab was relentless every day, pushing us to our limits. And at times it really, it really put so much adversity on us. And we, we really, it really gut-checked us, like who we are, who we are as athletes. And I wouldn’t change that,” Quitevis added.

Koon and Quitevis have a scrimmage to settle next week but once they take a break, both seniors seek to recharge and recover from their injuries to prepare for their road to the pros.