Tab Baldwin cut a frustrated figure after the game.
The former New Zealand mentor witnessed his Ateneo de Manila University side lose 66-72 to University of the Philippines in Game One of the finals of the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
His Blue Eagles are in danger of losing their second consecutive finals at the hands of the Fighting Maroons.
But Ateneo is eager to arrest that skid.
“Execution during the whole game was difficult because the pressure from UP was very good,” lamented Baldwin.
“We certainly have to figure out ways to compensate for the pressure that they have. I’ve talked about it before. When they have those six guards who are able to generate that kind of template for a game defensively, you’ve got to find counters,” he continued.
“We thought we had some, but we need more.”
The Blue Eagles were down by as much as 60-70 with 3:52 left in the contest off a Cyril Gonzales basket. But they were able to trim the lead to 65-70 thanks to baskets from BJ Andrade, Josh Lazaro, and Ange Kouame with 2:13 remaining.
However, the Fighting Maroons’ defense proved key as they were able to force stops. A notable example of this was Zav Lucero’s block against Kouame, which all but sealed the win.
With Ateneo’s season on the line this Wednesday, Baldwin wants his players to improve on that one thing if they want to extend the series to a rubber match.
Moreover, they are crossing their fingers that Forthsky Padrigao’s ankle sprain is nothing major.
