Safe to say, Ateneo de Manila University coach Tab Baldwin has ruffled the feathers of the University of the Philippines community.
Calling his current batch of Blue Eagles underdogs before the finals began, his comments have provoked heated reactions from the fans of the Fighting Maroons, who have voiced their strong disagreements through social media.
Now, both schools will go at each other in the title decider on Monday after Ateneo’s 65-55 win on Wednesday. And he can expect that State U’s crowd will raise their levels to back their team, which is targeting its second straight UAAP crown.
“I’ve been in a few game threes. There’s a lot of pressure. I’ve said in the beginning, you see that UP crowd, there is a lot of pressure. I’m glad I coach Ateneo. The way they do things over there, man, there’s gonna be some heat in that house,” said the former Tall Blacks head coach.
“I mean there’s pressure on our team, there’s pressure on us. But when I said we have the DNA of underdogs, I wasn’t joking. Debbie Tan came up to me after the game and she didn’t say anything. She just looked at me and shook her head. I said I just didn’t see that we would be here and we are.”
Despite a revamped lineup after the exits of the likes of Raffy Verano, Gian Mamuyac, SJ Belangel, and Tyler Tio, Ateneo is just one win away from reclaiming the crown it last won back in Season 82.
Personnel changes or no, the Blue Eagles remain a top contender for the championship under the mentorship of Baldwin.
“Now, of course, we’re not gonna give anything away. We’re gonna come to fight. Now I think we have every reason in the world to fight and we have every reason in the world to believe. They have their own to make over in their changing ship,” he said.
With a coaching career that has spanned more than 30 years, Baldwin has experienced what it is like to compete in front of crowds from different cultures and nationalities. Having been in the country since 2013, he has grown fond of the Philippine brand of support.
Game One of the series drew 18,211 to the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Three days later at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, 20,616 Iskos and Ateneans trooped to the venue.
What more on Monday – the day UP and Ateneo finally break their five-year-long deadlock.
But unlike the crowd in the NCAA that has drawn flak due to being too rowdy, Baldwin lauded the Katipunan neighbors for not throwing away their morals and ethics inside the venue.
“It’s a fantastic spectacle. If people around the world saw this, they would not believe what they see. It’s such a tremendously well-behaved crowd. I’m in all seriousness. They’re not negative – maybe a little bit creeps in, but I’m American,” said Baldwin, who has been part of the heated Boomers-Tall Blacks rivalry as well.
“I mean if this was in America, they would be at each other’s throats. If it was in Serbia, there would be open warfare out there. The guns would come out. Filipinos should be extremely proud of the spectacle that is created here and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
