Mason Amos is all set to face his former team: the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Now that he’s days away from facing the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP, Mason Amos is making one thing clear: any connections he’s built in Katipunan are now in the past ever since he jumped ship to Taft Avenue.
Amos and the DLSU Green Archers are set to face the Blue Eagles this Sunday, October 5, in what promises to be a competitive matchup between the two longtime rivals. While all eyes will be on Amos facing his former team, the big man quickly downplayed those storylines surrounding the matchup.
“Actually, I’m not talking to anybody here in Ateneo and just, you know? My family’s here in La Salle and yeah, they’re all my brothers,” shared Amos, who is in the midst of his first season with DLSU in the UAAP.
“I’m preparing for Ateneo the same as every other game. Just practicing as hard as I can so when it comes to game time, at least I know I’m prepared,” he said. “I know it’s going to be an eventful one, but again, I just look at it as another game.”
Amos made the controversial leap from Ateneo to DLSU in July last year, just as he was expected to become a cornerstone for the Blue Eagles. As expected, it was a development that came with a social media firestorm, where his former Ateneo teammates and alumni criticized the shock transfer.
Amid the negativity that followed his career choice, Amos said that he turned to his newfound brothers in Taft Avenue, who continue to be his rock as he begins his latest chapter in Green and White.
“They were just telling me to be true to myself and not being afraid; You know? Just getting over that hump that I used to have at the start which was being mentally tough. And you know? It wasn’t easy, I could say it wasn’t easy, but you know? I moved past it,” Amos reflected.
“And I just thank the Lord, I just kept praying, so that’s what got me through it, God is good.”
Still a storied rivalry
If there is anything Mason Amos is looking forward to on Sunday, it’s the opportunity to play again in one of the UAAP’s most storied rivalries, especially after he underwent a one-year residency in UAAP Season 87.
“It’s exciting! Just being able to play in a rivalry is always exicting, so I’m looking forward to it and it’s good to be back, so let’s see on Sunday,” said Amos.
The Blue Eagles hold a 3-0 record entering the matchup, and are looking like Final Four contenders behind the excellence of Jared Bahay and the one-and-done trio of Kymani Ladi, Dominic Escobar, and Jaden Lazo.
As a true competitor, this is another reason why Amos is excited to face his former team this Sunday.
“I’m excited to play against all of them. You know? It’s a competition for a reason and I’m glad to see them on the court. So I’m happy for them and if I get to play them, then I’ll get to play them,” Amos said.
Amos is also eager to face his former coach, Tab Baldwin, who will surely come up with tactics to limit his touches throughout the game.
“Definitely a lot of tactical strategies and I know that he’s got something planned for us on Sunday; but so it’s just us countering what he has planned and you know? You just got to give him credit where it’s due. He’s a good coach and I’m not taking that away from him, so we’ll be prepared.”
However, the big man also knows that the game will come with its share of negativity, given that he was already showered with boos from the Ateneo crowd amid his redshirt year last season. A similar scenario also played out when Amos and DLSU played the Blue Eagles at the Moro Lorenzo Gym during the Asiabasket College Campus Tour preseason tournament last May.
Again, just block out the noise. Easier said than done, but I’ve done it before. So I’ll do it again.”
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.