But Lipa says he’s leaving for good

Life goes on the morning after.

But traffic seemed light on Esteban Abada, that strip of a street parallel to Katipunan which is teeming with resident Ateneans. The night before there were pockets of cheers from the dorms, boarding houses, apartments lining the streets. But they were not as full-throated as in Game Two which Ateneo won. And there was deafening silence at endgame.

Over at the campus, traffic was unusually light, too, probably because it was semestral break for the colleges. The high shool kids walked with a little drag on the step and there were whispers and shaking of the heads, a scene not unlike in funeral wake.

The Moro Lorenzo complex , where the Blue Eagles plotted their biggest gambit for the UAAP crown, looked forlorn and deserted.

For the entire season, Ateneo coach Joe Lipa literally held court here. Now he’s ready to gather his things and bid the place adieu.

"I’m leaving for good. I’m leaving both happy and sad," said the mercurial coach who had painstakingly built the core of a team that would contend for the title after only three years.

"Happy because I’m leaving behind good and tough players and if they succeed later on, I know that I’m partly responsible. Sad because I would be remembered for this last game," said Lipa.

What really happened that Last Dance?

"La Salle simply played better and delivered in the most crucial stretches of the contest. And we didn’t defend well in those stretches," he said.

The Eagles threw a 1-3-1 zone that seemed to choke the Archers’ offensives but their transition defense just wouldn’t hold up.

"We did very well early on but in the third quarter we just couldn’t hold on in our transition defense. That’s La Salle’s biggest advantage, their having flexibility and maintaining their efficiency if they change from a tall team to a small squad," he added.

There’s no question his backcourt delivered with LA Tenorio firing 30 points on nine of 14 from the field. In fact, one of the most wrenching postgame scenes was that of Tenorio weeping his heart out while Lipa consoled him with a fatherly hug.