Raffy Celis proved why Tab Baldwin wanted him on the Ateneo Blue Eagles team in the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday – particularly his ‘Cebuano’ grit.
The former standout from Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu had his best game so far as a Blue Eagle.
He put in eight points, 11 rebounds – with nine from the offensive end – and three assists in his team’s 67-59 win over the UST Growling Tigers.
The victory also arrested the Blue Eagles’ three-game slide.
Baldwin envisioned this type of performance from his 20-year-old, 6-foot-3 forward.
The former New Zealand Tall Blacks coach felt that Celis played an important role as his perseverance paid huge dividends for the Blue Eagles.
“The saving grace was really our offensive rebounding. Raffy got a chance to get out there and he gave us nine offensive rebounds, which is pretty extraordinary. He did some other good things on offense,” said Baldwin.
“You know when you’re having the kind of season we’re having, it’s not uncommon for coaches to turn stones over and look underneath and see what we can get. We’ve always liked Raffy’s energy. It’s a big reason that we brought him into the program.”
The Blue Eagles’ victory put them back on track in their quest to make it to this season’s Final Four. Ateneo snapped its three-game losing streak to improve its record to 5-6.
It is now half a game behind fourth-running Adamson University, who will play De La Salle University later tonight.
When results go down, the only thing to do is to work harder. Celis showed the way, and he should only pick it up from here.
“I said a month ago or so, I don’t know, those guys who started late with us, particularly Raffy and Kyle (Gamber), they had a lot to learn.
“They had a lot of growth before they were really comfortable and could go out on the court and play their natural game. That’s a process that you’re never really sure when the trigger point is,” said Baldwin.
“So we’re happy. We pulled the trigger today with Raffy, and we know that both of those guys are very, very good players, and we got some productivity, and there wasn’t too much downside,” he continued.
“There were a couple of mistakes. There were a couple of defensive mistakes but no more than a lot of our other rookies who are getting playing time like Jared (Brown) and Mason (Amos) and some of these guys.”
For his part, Celis was happy to play heavy minutes for the Blue Eagles against the Growling Tigers. He made the most out of his big chance to finally put the UAAP community on notice about how good he can be for Ateneo.
Indeed, it was a job well done for him today.
“I think I gave my best and I’m happy. Coach (Tab) trusted me. I gave my 100-percent to contribute. I think we focused and did our job individually,” he said.
