CAGED the last two years due to the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic and left without the core that propped up the squad to great heights, do the Blue Eagles of Ateneo still have what it takes to annex a fourth straight title?
Even Eagles coach Tab Baldwin has a simple answer: It’s a season of unknowns.
Some question marks will be answered initially tomorrow when Ateneo squares off with fancied University of the Philippines in the 84th UAAP basketball tournament behind closed doors at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The match is set at 4 p.m. after Adamson University and National University, two teams with new tacticians in Nash Racela and Jeff Napa, respectively, collide at 1 o’clock.
Last season’s bridesmaid University of Santo Tomas, now under strategist Jinino Manansala, battles Far Eastern University in the duel kicking off the new season at 10 a.m.
La Salle, with coach Derrick Pumaren now calling the shots, clashes with University of the East of new mentor Jack Santiago in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
“It’s a lot of unknowns as we start the season, and I think it’s a whole new experience for the teams and for the fans. So, it will be exciting. I wish I could feel more comfortable going into the season about how the team will play,” Baldwin said.
“I think we’ve got to get out there and experience our opponents, and everybody will have their own level of readiness at the beginning of the season,” he added.
