Unlike years past, not all had the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Final Four of UAAP Season 85 -- let alone, the finals.
Ateneo itself -- or its coaches, at the very least -- would be the first to admit it didn't have great expectations for the season.
"This team has already surpassed a lot of the expectations of them and even, to be fair, of the coaching staff," exclaimed head coach Tab Baldwin after they entered the championship round of a tournament that many thought would feature the UP Fighting Maroons and La Salle Green Archers.
"I just didn't see that we would be here, and we are. Now, of course, we're not gonna give anything away. We're gonna come to fight."
Indeed, here the Blue Eagles were, clinching a must-win Game 2, and then claiming a winner-take-all Game 3.
Here Ateneo is, reigning over the UAAP -- and all our expectations, assumptions, and projections -- once more.
On the back of Ange Kouame as well as disciplined, determined defense, the Blue Eagles took the fight out of now-dethroned champion UP, 75-68, Monday at Araneta Coliseum to take home the Season 85 trophy just in time for Christmas.
Just five months ago, Ateneo thought its dynasty had come to a close. That was when a team still with Gian Mamuyac and Tyler Tio, now PBA stars, and SJ Belangel, now shining in the Korean Basketball League, swept the eliminations only to falter in the finals against the Fighting Maroons.
"A lot of people doubted these guys, and I think there were times when it was kind of easy to doubt them," remarked Baldwin. "So I think this team had to word harder than the previous versions of Blue Eagle champions. They did."
Now all of them are gone, all that's left is Kouame, veteran BJ Andrade, and the blue and white's trademark "next man up." As such, many wrote them off and put them on a thought-to-be rebuild back to being a powerhouse.
Baldwin and Kouame had other plans, though. They trusted their culture, they trusted themselves, and proved it when it mattered most.
After dropping Game 1 of the best-of-three series for all the glory, the Blue Eagles felt cold, hard stone against their backs. They were on the verge of being swept. They were on the verge of losing on the biggest stage, under the brightest lights for the second straight season.
Only, that was when Kouame summoned his MVP form, pumping in 15 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks before pounding in 19 markers, 11 boards, three swats, three steals, and two assists. All throughout, he posed problems for Season MVP Malick Diouf, Henry Galinato, and Carl Tamayo at both ends.
"It means a lot, man. It's the best season I've ever had in my life," he expressed post-game, without a doubt leaving his all on the floor in his last game for the blue and white. "When I joined the team (in 2017), they already had something there, but we rebuilt thus team."
The naturalized big for Gilas Pilipinas was bigger inside the paint, faster to loose balls, and more determined than even his own teammates.
With Kouame that determined, it's quite funny to call Ateneo underdogs, but Baldwin did so -- and kept doing so. In that light, though, it's also quite justifiable to understand where he was coming from.
The Blue Eagles were the top-seed, but the Fighting Maroons were the defending champions. The former hemorrhaged its lifeblood in the past years. The latter was mostly intact.
In the end, it didn't matter. Ateneo had all the answers. Ange Kouame was the answer.