Good Morning Araneta! (Part 2)

There’s a passage, and from those passages are rumbling noises. We entered one hole from the wall, and as I ascend to the GA seats, the noise becomes eminent. It was MAYHEM!!! It was WILD!!! Pure energy is filling in Araneta! It was really, really noisy, and everything was like going wild as College Wars is about to begin. We hurried up, for chairs are precious resources at that time that could quickly be gone. Unfortunately, there are no more chairs available in the GA, so we have to stand at the back.

The view was just awesome. Well, I thought that I’ll be looking at dots. In fact, the centerstage is not that far. The dome is BIG, and when I say big, I mean it, it’s BIG! The ceiling is huge, and I’m running out of synonyms for the word ‘big’. The area is really wide, and adding to the thrill of being in the Araneta is the energy out of the competing schools. Everyone was cheering, yelling and beating drums, and with nine competing schools, the heat of the war is just burning the whole coliseum. Nine bands, each with hardly-beaten battalion of drums, and nine squads, each with an army of cheerers and yellers that has their vocal cords trained to scream out a hundred decibels, add to that nine student bodies, all screaming out their school yells and cheers, all in an effort to be the loudest, and therefore, the most supportive among the rest.

“Arriba! Arriba! Arriba Letranista!”

Everyone is on high, as everyone is cheering against one another. For minutes, it was like that, an endless exchange of drum beats, yells and cheers.

The lights closed, and everyone screamed! Whoooo! The show is about to start. As a freshmen from the province, the excitement is overwhelming, and I can’t help to stare at the spotlights swimming around the whole seating capacity of the Dome. Someone spoke, and introduced the hosts.. wth! It was Iya Villania along with KC Montero. (or was that JC? I don’t know, but I am certain of his last name.)

Of course, with that, everyone screamed, specially the girls in the audience: they constituted 80% of the total sound energy released.

The opening ceremonies was prepared on a scale I rarely see. Though it was a little bit biased over the side of the San Sebastian (because they are the host school), I found the opening really great.

Who wouldn’t call it great if one will see Kyla, Jay-R, John Prats and Billy Crawford singing and dancing on a free live show? Hahaha!

“Let the Games Begin!” shouts Iya and KC.

The nine colleges and universities included just yelled out their energy after hearing it, and the opening ceremonies concluded. Now, on to the first game.

As the utility team is removing the set-up for the hardcourt to be revealed, we went to some vacant seats left after the opening ceremonies. Some schools already went home, for they do not have their teams competing on the later games. At last, after two hours of standings, we sat.

Now, I get why bottled water is not allowed. It is because they sell items here at skyrocketing prices. You can purchase a glass of iced tea for P60-, and a hotdog sandwich for P60- too. Very affordable, right?

I am anticipating the removal of the black mats. I am longing to see the logo of “the Big Dome” in the middle of the court. I only see it in TV, and I cannot wait to see it personally.

One by one, as the rectangular sheets were removed, bit by bit, the logo is revealed. A minute or two after, at last, the long wait is over. The long seen trademark of Araneta that was once just on my television screen, is now just a couple of meters away.

Moving on, the games is about to start. The line-up is introduced, and as each player is called, some cheering squad is ready to yell out their throats for their team. Unfortunately, our star player is not around, and I only knew about it after the game.

For the first time ever in my entire life, I was thrilled by a basketball game.The “Arriba Spirit”, as they call it here in Letran, comes alive when competing with other schools. Wahahaha! I was also screaming my throat, larynx, Adam’s apple, alveoli, lungs and bronchi like hell every time there’s a steal, a rebound, an attempt to shoot, a fastbreak, a tight defense and a foul – in short, every time!

I was raising my bag in mid-air everytime we make a point, and we were screaming cheers and yells against Baste all the time. “Beat Baste! Arriba Letran!” became the battlecry of Letranites throughout the game. Maruz, my female seatmate, is also going wild beside me. She was screaming as if her life is on the line. haha :)) The game was tight, with Baste winning the first and third quarter. The fourth quarter was one thrilling quarter, for we are in an exchange of leads. Letran will lead, Baste will tie, then Baste will lead and so on. It was one hell of a game.

It is really enthralling to see half of Araneta, all wearing blue shirts, standing and raising their hands every time the Knights score in a shot. The feeling of having a team to support, and a school to support really sank deep in to me. Everyone was just screaming in joy and boastfulness everytime Letran scores, and our band just starts the beat in and we scream some of our endless cheers. And so is Baste, the yellow army just screams out on every score that is added to their team, accompanied by some drum beat and cheers.

The last minutes of the game were the most exciting, as in I watched half of it standing, in thrill of all the three point shot attempts, and on dismay at the misses, for we are trailing shortly behind Baste. The last seconds of the game were marked with desperation, with Baste gaining a firm lead with the successive free throws.

To conclude it, the Letran Knights lost by six points to the defending champion, San Sebastian Stags. We are defeated, but the experience I gained has just purchased me a victory in my life.

THE END. hahaha :D what a nonsense ending XD