After almost two years of no action, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines finally got the ball rolling for Season 84 back in March but under certain circumstances. Teams were required to be in a full bubble setup within their respective campuses and the tournament schedule was compressed by having quadruple headers for every gameday.
Midway through the second round, coaches have been feeling the stress and fatigue brought by the grueling schedule being played in the league.
Just ask Tab Baldwin.
In their game against National University on Saturday, the Blue Eagles got off to a strong start and were able to build a huge lead at halftime. However, the Bulldogs were able to trim the 33-point deficit down to only 14 points in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter.
Baldwin was aware of the inconsistencies that his team had in the second half but lamented that the schedule has made it difficult for everyone to play at a consistently high level throughout the season.
“I just have to say that this schedule is brutal. It is really, really brutal. I think it’s really unfair to everybody because it’s just very difficult for the players and the coaching staff to maintain a high standard of performance and that’s really what the fans want,” he claimed.
“And it isn’t just our team, everybody’s exhausted.”
Still, the multi-titled coach continues to feel surprised as to how his team gets to keep up the same level of performance in every game. They remain undefeated in their campaign thus far.
“Looking at our basketball team and our season, I marvel really at how our players are continuing to push themselves under these circumstances,” shared Baldwin. “I said it at the beginning of the season, I thought it would be almost impossible to go without a defeat through this season and I still think that it’s a remote possibility.
“I think you see when teams get leads, it’s hard to hold on to the leads because players are mentally and physically tired but I was really proud of our team today.”
Despite the inconsistencies in between quarters from time to time, the Blue Eagles were still able to win all of their assignments to sit atop the standings with an 11-0 record. With their victory over NU, the defending champions have now clinched at least a playoff spot for a top two finish this season.
Baldwin also admitted that this is a new experience for him and tipped his hat to the players for performing well even under these circumstances.
“I’ve never experienced anything like it over such an extended period of time in my entire career. I’ve played in tournaments with nine games in nine days or nine games in 11 days at the World Cup — never had anything like this. This is really tough,” the former Gilas and Tall Blacks head coach shared.
“We’re going almost three months without any days off. I don’t really know how the players are doing it. My heart goes out to them, honestly.”
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