The first Ateneo-La Salle rivalry game of UAAP Season 84 wasn’t just a classic match-up. It was also a reunion, of sorts, for Justine Baltazar and his former Gilas teammates who are currently playing for the Blue Eagles.
Last year, the native of Pampanga had a brief stint with Gilas Pilipinas under former head coach Tab Baldwin. He gained international playing experience after seeing action in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers; and in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Belgrade, Serbia.
On Saturday night, the 6-foot-8 forward finally took the court with his former teammates in the national team. It was the first time since the group’s latest tour of duty with Gilas.
The Blue Eagles successfully made life harder for Baltazar in the first rivalry game of the season. In fact, the fifth-year student-athlete could only make five points – his lowest scoring output of the season thus far. Baltazar ended the tilt with 12 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block in 35 and three seconds of action.
“Raffy [Verano] was a little bit outsized by Balti but he played so hard. Josh Lazaro is a lot longer and played hard as well today,” Baldwin stressed.
“They gave Balti problems, but Balti was really tired at the end of the game.”
The multi-titled coach, though, thinks there aren’t many complexities in defending a player of Baltazar’s caliber. However, he claimed that Ateneo’s defense had a certain advantage in their match-ups with the 25-year-old big man since they played with their best effort against him.
“No, I don’t think there’s a lot of secrets. You know there are good coaches in this league and we get a chance to scout each other. These are still young players. And although, like all the other top players in the UAAP have, I think Balti has a great, varied skill set,” he claimed.
“But when you’re exposed to these players over an extended period of time, I think the defense has the advantage if you play really smart and hard.”
Still, Baldwin is fully aware of the things that Baltazar can do on the court. He respects his former player plenty. And for that, he had to put out all the stops in order to limit the big man’s impact in the game.
“He played a lot of minutes and he played extremely hard — there was no quit in him. He’s gonna say it wasn’t his best game but he did all the things he had to do out there,” lauded Baldwin.
“I just have all the respect in the world for him. That’s why we play so hard against him and why we prepare so extensively against all their players – especially him.”
By containing Baltazar’s production and grabbing a huge win, it is safe to say that the Blue Eagles succeeded in doing just that. And they got the better of their rivals this time around.
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