Seniors Chris Koon and Sean Quitevis can leave Ateneo knowing that their leadership was a guiding light that provided a sense of direction to the next crop of Blue Eagles.
It may not have been the sweetest of endings, but Ateneo co-captains Chris Koon and Sean Quitevis will have plenty of reason to hold their heads high as they end their UAAP careers with the Blue Eagles.
Once part of Ateneo’s Season 85 championship run, the pair was thrust into leadership roles as the Blue Eagles entered a rebuild under the Tab Baldwin era. Gone were the battle-scarred vets, and in were talented, but young players who were yet to experience life in the UAAP, along with the standard attached to wearing the Blue and White jersey.
“I remember Coach Tab [Baldwin] told us in a meeting in one of these past weeks. He said it’s easy to lead during successful times, winning times, but it’s hard, it’s really hard to lead during the tough times,” reflected Quitevis after he and Koon wrapped up their UAAP careers against Adamson in the Season 87 men’s basketball tournament over the weekend.
“I think that put me and Chris to the test. Honestly, we just take lessons from it moving forward with our careers. We’ve been through tough times now, and it only builds character, and I think it only does us well moving forward.”
Like Quitevis, Koon knows that a tough year yields more lessons they and the Eagles can build on moving forward.
“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, you know, win or lose,” he said.
Ateneo finished with a 4-10 record in Season 87 after key offseason losses forced a rookie and sophomore-laden core to embrace bigger responsibilities while transitioning to the collegiate level of play.
And for Baldwin, this is exactly why his two seniors should get their flowers as they exit the Blue Eagle program. Without them, it would have been an entirely different story trying to manage a talented, but young group of Ateneo Blue Eagles throughout Season 87.
“I think we had something like nine first-year players, another six, or four, or five second-year players. They’re talented, but without direction, this season would have been a hell of a lot worse and would have been a hell of a lot more frustrating. So the job that these two guys did in a very unenviable scenario commands my respect,” said Baldwin.
“And I just want to 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 scenes. They have my eternal gratitude and I will consider myself very, very fortunate to be their brother, to be their friend, and to be their supporter for whatever scenarios that I’m allowed by them to act in those roles.”
‘Still that standard to uphold’
And as they leave the Eagles’ nest, Chris Koon and Sean Quitevis hope to have imparted valuable lessons to the players that will lead the Ateneo’s next big fight for Season 88 and beyond.
“I hope that the players know that and they know that there’s still that standard to uphold, but at the same time, understand what it means to put on the uniform and you know, it goes by fast. These four years went by really fast for me and I know Sean probably felt the same. So, I hope the players don’t forget that and they know what it means to wear the uniform,” said Koon.
Incoming sophomores Jared Bahay and Kris Porter are expected to lead the Blue Eagles next season, while Andrew Bongo and Shawn Tuano look to build on their emergence as key contributors throughout Season 87.
“Honestly, I just want them to emulate our leadership as much as they can. Coach Tab was relentless every day, pushing us to our limits, and at times it really put so much adversity on us and it really gut-checked us, like who we are as athletes. And I wouldn’t change that no matter what. If there was an easier way, I wouldn’t take it,” added Quitevis.
And while their time in Katipunan has ended, rest assured that Koon and Quitevis will always be there to cheer on their former teammates while trying to build their own professional basketball careers.
“Through the losses, through the wins, [the Ateneo community has] seen our journey, and we just can’t thank them enough. So we thank them, and they know we’ll be in the stands with them next year supporting this next group of Ateneo athletes,” concluded Koon.
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.