Home Court Blue: The Meresen Family Story

The relationship between the Meresen family and the Blue Eagle Gym began in 1995, when Michael Meresen played for La Salle Green Hills’ PRADA Aspirants Team and captured a championship victory over San Beda at the venue then known as the Loyola Center. This early connection would grow even stronger when Michael enrolled in college at Ateneo in 1997. After classes, he would often walk straight to the Blue Eagle Gym to watch weekday games, cheering passionately alongside his classmates as part of the Ateneo community.

In 2017, Michael and his wife, Mina, made a meaningful decision to transfer their son, Miguel, from Colegio San Agustin (CSA) to Ateneo in support of Miguel’s dream of playing for the school. By Grade 4, Miguel had earned a spot on the basketball varsity team, with practices held at the Blue Eagle Gym—bringing a new generation of the Meresen family onto the same court that had shaped Michael years earlier.

Michael himself continued to play at the Blue Eagle Gym, joining both the alumni and parents’ divisions of the Ateneo Basketball League (ABL). In 2019, Miguel also began competing in the ABL, further deepening the family’s ties to the venue. When the league resumed in 2022, Miguel was named Most Valuable Player in the Father Malasmas Division, a milestone celebrated by the entire family.

Throughout all these games and seasons, Mina was a constant presence in the stands, faithfully supporting both Michael and Miguel—embodying the heart of the family’s connection to the Blue Eagle Gym.

In 2025, when the Blue Eagle Gym reopened, the Meresen family was once again there to show their unwavering support for Ateneo basketball. Miguel, serving as an injured reserve player and Student Manager for the UAAP Junior High School Season 88 team, was part of the historic return to the Blue Eagle Gym.

Today, the Meresen family’s enduring bond with the Blue Eagle Gym lives on, symbolized by three seats named in honor of its members—Michael, Mina, and Miguel—a lasting tribute to a family whose story is deeply woven into Ateneo’s home court.

Stand with Ateneo. Honor your Ateneo story. Support the Blue Eagle Gym. Name a seat.