For Dave Ildefonso, it’s déjà vu all over again in a championship way

MANILA, Philippines – After the Ateneo Blue Eagles stunned defending champions University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the recently concluded UAAP Season 85 Men’s Basketball Finals, it was an overly joyous Dave Ildefonso who celebrated with teammates and coaches alike.

In his final year in the blue and white of the Ateneo, he was going out as a champion.

During a lull in the on-court celebrations, we asked Ildefonso how he was able to change the narrative of his final year during his days in the Ateneo High School and the Ateneo College.

In Season 79 of the UAAP juniors basketball tournament, Ildefonso and his Blue Eaglets teammates Kai Sotto, SJ Belangel, Joaqui Manuel, Jason Credo and RV Berjay lost the battle for the second seed to a Far Eastern University squad that was bannered by LJ Gonzales and Jack Gloria.

Come the Final Four, Ateneo staved off elimination with a 75-56 win in Game One to forge a win-or-go-home match with the Baby Tamaraws. 

Game Two was a close affair. With FEU leading 74-72 with seconds left in the game clock and Ateneo with possession, the Eaglets missed a chance to either win the match outright or send the game into overtime.

It was a disconsolate Ildefonso who wept by the sidelines along with his teammates. While he had one more chance to win it all the next year, Season 80, that was a ways to go and the hurt at the moment was hard to bear.

By Season 80, with a season of UAAP ball under Kai Sotto’s belt, Ateneo made short work of almost all its foes en route to a 14-0 elimination round record that saw the Eaglets advance straight to the finals. 

Against National University in the Finals, Ateneo blew out the Bullpups of Goldwyn Monteverde, 86-70, in Game One.

NU got back in Game Two, 70-67, when Miguel Oczon stole Ateneo’s inbound pass and deny a chance for a final shot at the game.

All of a sudden, it was like the previous year all over again. But come Game Three, the Eaglets prevailed. 63-58, to take the championship. 

Ildefonso stunned many Ateneans when he transferred to NU for college. However, after his sophomore season, Dave did an about face and returned to Loyola Heights to rejoin many of his former teammates in the seniors squad. 

After sitting a year out while taking up residency, what seemed like a team on course for a four-peat —in spite of losing Will Navarro, Pat Maagdenberg and Dwight Ramos, who all opted to play professional ball due to the early uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic — Dave was thrusted into the forefront of the four-peat campaign.

Ildefonso had big games but struggled overall. That came to a boil during the finals where UP pulled the rug from Ateneo by winning three of their final four games that bridged the elimination round to the finals to steal the crown.

With the Fighting Maroons still looking imperious heading into Season 85, it seemed like Dave’s dreams of winning a title with Ateneo wasn’t going to happen. 

This time, it was Ateneo’s turn to defeat UP in the final match of the elimination round and to take them out in three Finals matches. Ateneo and Idefonso were once more champions.

“We got it done!” enthused Ildefonso amidst the celebration.

The narrative bookend of his high school and college years at the Ateneo had a happy ending.

Older brother Shaun, whose departure from Ateneo after Season 79 triggered also his younger brother’s changing zip codes, was in the crowd and cheering not only for Dave, but also for the Ateneo. 

“I’m happy for my brother and BJ (Andrade, Ildefonso's cousin and former teammate with both the Eaglets and Blue Eagles),” beamed Shaun.

“BJ and I lost in our final high school year at the Ateneo,” he related some more. “But he came back for his final year in college and re-wrote the script. Now, both BJ and Dave are leaving as winners.”

At its end, it was déjà vu all over again for Dave Ildefonso.