ANIMO La Salle!

It was an emotionally charged Lasallian community — in the jampacked MOA arena, DLSU campus, sports bars and homes all over the world — that watched the Green Archers win the 2013 UAAP men’s basketball championship. Several articles have been written about the game — how La Salle rallied from a 15-point deficit and won over UST in overtime by two points.

But the story goes beyond just winning the championship. It is the story of an institution and its heritage of pride and achievements in every field, including athletics.

I have continued to be fascinated at the depth of the loyalty, pride and commitment of its graduates to this institution called De La Salle when it was just a high school, then a college and now a university.

There is the pride in being an alumnus of one of the finest teaching institutions in the world, in its faculty and its adaptability to a constantly changing environment. But surely there is something more that binds its students and graduates to this institution.

There is no doubt  their  years in La Salle have helped form the aspirations, character and values of everyone who have attended the institution. But how does one explain why the Lasallian heart skips a beat every time the alma mater song, Hail to De La Salle, is sang with an upraised right arm and clenched fist.

One of the clearest manifestationsof this phenomenon called ‘school spirit’ is the dedication and passion for school sports which goes back to the beginning of its 102 years in the country. Br. Bernie Oca FSC said: “Sports enhances school spirit. I don’t think campus life would be too exciting without sports. It’s what brings the community together – students, alumni, faculty, administration, everybody. In the La Salle context, it unites us all and makes us proud to be Lasallians.”

The history of Lasallian sports is chronicled in the Centennial coffee table book published in 2011, the 100th year of La Salle in the Philippines.

Sports in La Salle was started by Br. Celba John FSC, one of the nine Brothers who founded the first La Salle school in Paco, Manila in 1911. Br.  John was an Irishman. However he had seven years experience in the American school system where sports was considered an integral part of campus life.

As the sports moderator, he formed the first La Salle basketball team in 1911 composed of Jose Rubio, Jose Garchitorena, Carlos Reyes, Dionisio Calvo, Ramon Delgado and Antonio Llamas. The international school color of La Salle was actually Blue and Gold. But because of his Irish background, Br. John chose the color Green. The color White was added to symbolize the Philippines as the “Pearl of the Orient.” This combination is the story of how Green and White has become the school color of all Lasallian schools in this country.

There has also been a lot of curiousity about the battle cry ANIMO and its real meaning. Its alumni like to explain that the word animo means “spirit to fight” or also refers to the “La Salle spirit.” It is said to be derived from the 325-year spirit of “Faith and Zeal” of the Lasallian Brothers.

The word “Animo” is derived from the Latin “animus” which means spirit. It is used in different contexts such as drive, purpose, intention, passion and intelligence. From Italian etymology, Animo, as a battle cry, means “Have Courage!”

Another interesting story is the evolution of the school’s alma mater song. Alumni of the 1940s still remember the song “De La Salle We’re Marching For You.” Then came the “Victory Song,”  the melody  adopted from the Notre Dame University marching song.

In 1961, Br. Stephen Malachy FSC played a harmonica and introduced a song he composed with Br. Bonaventure Richard FSC to a high school class. This was adopted as the school song. The tradition of singing the alma mater song after a game was started, in the Philippines,  by La Salle in 1964, and was subsequently adopted by all the other schools. This tradition of singing the alma mater song has now become a practice after all sports events, in victory or defeat, alumni gatherings, graduation exercises and other gatherings. I have even heard it sang in some funeral wakes of alumni.

De La Salle has always had a tradition of winning championships, first in the NCAA of which it was a founding member until 1980. Then In 1986, La Salle joined the UAAP where it has won the men’s basketball championship eight times (1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2013).

After six years since the last championship, there was clear hunger for another title on the part of the team and the whole Lasallian community. After UST won the first game,  De La Salle won the second game which necessitated  a third do-or-die final game.

Right after the second game, it was announced that the third game would be held after one week in MOA. This precipitated an unbelievably fanatical search for tickets. Suddenly whether you were a cabinet secretary, a corporate CEO, fashion icon, entertainer, entrepreneur, academician, artist or professional, a ticket became a precious commodity. Everyone was willing to line up or beg for tickets — students, millennials,  generation X and baby boomers.

This just exemplifies how the 71-69 win over a fighting UST team transcended the confines of the hardcourt. The heart of this particular Green Archers basketball team and all the attributes every single player and member of the coaching staff exhibited to claim the UAAP men’s basketball championship personify the ideal Lasallian.

To the entire team and every single member of the community who share in the glory of this victory: “Hail To Thee Our Alma Mater, Hail, Hail, Hail!”

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