A win is a win, but Tab Baldwin is far from satisfied with his wards’ performance.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles may have won against the DLSU Green Archers, 81-74, in their first rivalry game for UAAP Season 88, but head coach Tab Baldwin remains far from satisfied with his team’s performance.
After all, the game wasn’t supposed to be close in the first place, as the Eagles went up 64-33 late into the third quarter, and all they needed was to stay disciplined until the final buzzer.
However, what could have been a blowout win nearly turned into a disaster. Instead of cruising to an easy win on Rivalry Sunday, the Eagles were unable to fend off a furious DLSU side, who poured in 19 straight points to start the final period.
“The way that we played for three quarters is just about as good as any Ateneo team has played for me, I think, and that’s a huge statement. Then in the fourth quarter, we played just about as bad as an Ateneo team for me, but fortunately, it was only one quarter,” Baldwin said post-game.
Ateneo was limited to only 13 points in the final period, while the Archers scored a whopping 36 points under the leadership of Jacob Cortez, captain Mike Phillips, and Kean Baclaan.
“I think that the contrast between the first three [quarters] is so stark that coaches talk about opportunities to learn for their team. I don’t think anybody in our organization has any doubts that we have a lot to learn about what happened in the fourth quarter,” Baldwin lamented.
“As a coach and as a guy that’s hardly ever satisfied, obviously, I am not very satisfied at all.”
Still, Baldwin made sure to give credit where credit is due, especially with Dom Escobar, Kymani Ladi, and Shawn Tuano shining brightly in Sunday’s contest with 15 points apiece. Escobar was key to Ateneo’s fiery first half as he added nine rebounds to his scoring brilliance; Ladi came alive in the second half, while Tuano hit timely buckets that sealed the deal for the Eagles.
Ladi and Escobar, in particular, are first-timers to the Ateneo-DLSU rivalry, yet came through when the lights were at their brightest.
“We got several guys that never played in this rivalry before. I’m not gonna take away anything that they accomplished; it was really extraordinary and I’m really proud of them — the preparation that they put into this game, the way they came out in the fourth with composure, and chemistry,” Baldwin said.
At the end of the day, Baldwin just hopes that the Eagles learn from that disastrous final period in order to play “solid” throughout a full 40-minute ballgame.
“That’s the way that we are capable of playing, so if we can learn from these lapses that we had in the fourth quarter and we understand what it takes to be solid for forty minutes, then I think a lot of people are going to have high belief on this team,” said the multi-titled mentor.
“But for our coaching staff, for me, obviously, the boys still need to improve more and play good basketball.”
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.