2 weeks Ago By JR Isaga
MANILA, Philippines – Four-time UAAP champion coach Tab Baldwin of the Ateneo Blue Eagles was never a fan of watching streaks, narratives, nor numbers that won’t help the immediate tasks at hand. Staying on brand, the fiery mentor answered questions in a relaxed state despite kicking off the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament with a 0-3 record, putting the former powerhouse squarely at the bottom of the standings amid its worst start in 10 years. What mattered most to Baldwin was that his squad, now littered with young, unproven talent, is getting all the experience it needs, especially after a 61-74 rout to historic rival La Salle last Sunday, September 15 that followed a pair of setbacks against loaded teams UP and UST .
“You have to be patient with the process. You invest too much time into something you know will pay dividends and just don’t know when it will pay dividends,” Baldwin said. “[Shawn Tuano’s] just a good player that’s getting better with experience.
He should have flashed this last year, and this year his role is more significant and he can score. I’d like to see what he’s doing, but we want to see it consistently.” The 6-foot-3 Tuano had his best game yet in the loss against the Archers, going 6-of-6 in the first half to eventually go for a game-high 18 points on an 8-of-14 clip.
With co-captain Chris Koon going down with an ankle injury, Tuano has been the only Ateneo player in double-digit scoring for all three games so far. Known defensive stalwart Joshua Lazaro, meanwhile, took a slight step back with 6 points and 7 rebounds against La Salle, after scorching for team-high averages of 14.5 points and 10.
5 boards in the first two outings. “We want to see Josh Lazaro repeat what he did in the last game. We want to see Drew Bongo get going because these guys have offensive capabilities,” Baldwin continued.
“Until these guys start being consistent, it’s going to be tough on Jared [Bahay] because the defenses are going to focus on him because they know his skill set. Until other players get the defensive attention off of Jared to some degree, it’s going to cause problems for the entirety of our offense.” Now on a long break before their next match against up-and-down Adamson on Saturday, September 21, the Blue Eagles have plenty of time to fine-tune their offense in winning ways.
“Teams are fun, they all have their own psychology, and young teams have generally things that are typical of young teams, and veteran teams have things that are, but it can be a mix and match,” Baldwin continued. “So what do we do going from here? You can’t condition people. That takes time.
So we have to really put the pressure on them to make that choice in the moment to focus on that, treat it as a very important job. You’ll get some success in some way.” – Rappler.
com.
