Heading into UAAP Season 84, Ateneo De Manila University has already lost its entire starting five that led the team in capturing their three-peat title two years ago.
Matt and Mike Nieto, Isaac Go, and Adrian Wong are all playing in the PBA. Thirdy Ravena is currently suiting up in the B. League. William Navarro, on the other hand, is a full-time Gilas player.
Despite having a revamped roster, the Blue Eagles still boasted their depth. They banked on a balanced scoring as well as the production of their bench mob to nab a 78-47 victory over Adamson University on Thursday afternoon at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Chris Koon, in particular, was a plus-34 for Ateneo after producing nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 16 minutes and 51 seconds of action.
Rookie point guard Forthsky Padrigao also made his presence felt. He contributed eight points, four assists, and a steal in eight minutes played.
Another first-year player Gab Gomez had a valuable impact for the Blue Eagles as well. He scored eight points in just a minute of action on the floor.
Head coach Tab Baldwin felt the least surprised after seeing the rest of his roster step up and contribute to their win over the Falcons.
“In Ateneo, we try to do things a bit differently.
“We don’t think of our team as starters and bench, we just think that everybody has a job to do. Today, we were able to get everybody on the court which we need to do,” he claimed.
“Geo [Chiu] obviously had foul trouble. With the game in two days, it was an opportunity to give players a little bit more time off with the lead. So other players went in and they did their job. RV Berjay and Forthsky Padrigao — they played well, and Gab Gomez. They didn’t just go out there. And we believe in them, we know they can play well,” the former Gilas mentor stressed.
“When we’re doing things like that, it sort of validates everything about our culture. And when we’re not, win or lose, we don’t particularly feel very good about the performances.”
The bench points proved the main difference between the two teams. Ateneo’s non-starters were able to match the scoring production of the entire Adamson squad with 47 points in the game.
Having several players stepping up allowed the Blue Eagles to deny an Adamson comeback. It also helped them secure their third consecutive victory on Tuesday afternoon.
“Today is a good feeling because we got a good production across the board from everybody,” Baldwin continued.
Is this the deepest roster that Ateneo has ever had? The multi-titled coach would like to hope so.
“Maybe, it would go close to that.
“I think, as a rule, we generally have pretty deep teams in Ateneo. And when you try to emphasize the defensive end of the floor, you expend a lot of energy and we like pressure defense. We’ve always had teams where we wanted to be able to rely on the entire roster,” he said.
The Blue Eagles (3-0) will need everyone to play at their best as they aim to extend their winning streak when they take on De La Salle University (2-0) on Saturday, 7:00 PM at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
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