GAMES WEDNESDAY
(UST Quadricentennial Pavilion)
2 p.m. – DLSU vs FEU (M)
4:30 p.m. – UST vs NU (M)
Standings W L
Ateneo 3 0
NU 2 0
UST 2 0
DLSU 1 1
AdU 1 2
UP 1 2
FEU 0 2
UE 0 3
ATENEO is off to a fast start in the 88th UAAP men’s basketball tournament and nobody is happier than coach Tab Baldwin.
“I think probably one of the things we’ll benefit from in the first three games is that nothing has come easy. You know, a couple of very close finishes in the first two games. You get those late-game situations where you have to execute and in both of those games, we had to hit big shots and get good shots for the right shooters and we managed to do that. And you learn from that and you get some confidence from that,” Baldwin said after the Blue Eagles scored their third straight win last Sunday, a 77-58 decision over Adamson at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
This Ateneo team is vastly different from the squad that went 0-3 in last year’s campaign. Ateneo also started Season 84 with three straight defeats.
Divine Adili, Jadem Lazo, Kymani Ladi and Ian Espinosa led the charge against the Soaring Falcons and this pleased Baldwin no end, saying the game tested their character and confidence.
“In today’s game, you know, at halftime, we weren’t happy. We weren’t happy with our defense and we started the third quarter and Adamson put 7 points on us right away and it was kind of a gut check moment for us. But from that point forward, you know, the team kind of started doing the little things better than any team needs to do to be successful. They began executing much better. They began defending their paint much better, rebounding the ball much better,” he said.
The Blue Eagles’ win streak will be tested in their next two matches against De La Salle University on Sunday and reigning champion University of the Philippines next Wednesday.
Baldwin, looking ahead to their match against last year’s runner-up La Salle, said: “Quick turnaround. You know, we’ve got to get to work and, you know, we’ve got to figure out how to handle this team. You know, this was one of the few teams that we got some preseason experience against and they, you know, they beat us a couple of times. We know the strengths that they have.
“But our players really have to take time to understand their strengths and we’ve got to get some quality practices in, working against what we know La Salle is going to bring. You know, tempo, toughness, rebounding and across-the-board scoring ability. So, it’s going to take a team effort. We know that. But we have some time to prepare and we’ll make the most of it.”
